Patrick J. Gould John F. Piatt 1994 <p><span>The incidental catch of seabirds in high-seas drift nets was recorded in 1990-1991 by scientific observers on commercial squid and large-mesh fishery vessels operating in the North Pacific Transitional Zone. Twenty-six <i>Synthliboramphus</i> murrelet deaths were recorded in the months of August through December. All but one were from the Korean squid fishery in a small area bounded by 38°-44°N and 142°-157°E. Five specimens of the dead birds were collected and later identified as Japanese Murrelets (<i>S. wumizusume</i>). As fishing effort was widely distributed over a large area east of Japan, these data suggest that postbreeding Japanese Murrelets migrate north to winter in a relatively small area southeast of Hokkaido, where persistent eddies form at the confluence of the Oyashio and Kuroshio currents. Fronts between cold Oyashio water and Kuroshio warm-core eddies promote the aggregation of zooplankton and pelagic fishes, which in turn may attract murrelets during the nonbreeding season. The estimated total mortality of Japanese Murrelets in high-seas drift-net fisheries represents a significant proportion of the total world population of this rare and endangered species.</span></p> application/pdf 10.2307/4088827 en American Ornithological Society Postbreeding dispersal and drift-net mortality of endangered Japanese Murrelets article