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Save the Albatross - Fact Sheet: Long-lived or Longlined?

For millions of years albatrosses have dined on squid in the southern oceans. But today, many of the squid have hooks in them - attached to the longlines at the back of fishing boats.

Albatrosses are natural scavenges and are attracted to the dead squid or fish used as bait. As the bait hits the water during the setting of the longline, albatross attempt to seize and swallow them.

Longline fishing for tuna, patagonian toothfish, snapper, ling and other species kill at least 300,000 seabirds every year. One of the major contributors to seabird deaths is fishing for the threatened southern bluefin tuna, a valuable and much-prized fish in Japanese restaurants.

Longline fishing is a huge industry. More than 500 boats ply the oceans each year. In the Southern Hemisphere as many as 500 million hooks are set annually.

The Problem in New Zealand

New Zealand is the albatross capital of the world. Our sub-Antarctic islands are home to more species of breeding albatrosses than any other country. But, in the last 20 years over 65,000 albatrosses and petrels have been drowned on tuna longline hooks within our 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone. New Zealand species that are killed in large numbers include the Campbell albatross, Antipodes and Auckland lslands wandering albatrosses, Southern Buller's albatross and the Grey petrel.

Photo: The Campbell albatross breeds only on Campbell Island where the population has fallen by over 10,000 since the early 1970's. Chicks wait patiently on the nests for a parent to return from the sea with food. If one parent is caught on a longline hook, the other is unable to raise the chick alone and the chick will die.

This is a Global Problem

Albatrosses spend little time on land. They cover thousands of kilometres in feeding flights lone. As long-lived infrequent breeders, birds such as albatross are particularly vulnerable. Six of the world's 20 albatross species are in decline and longline fishing is implicated in each case. Some of these species are on the path to extinction.

The slow-breeding wandering albatross needs a very high survival rate to maintain a stable population. Yet, tragically, over the last 20 years their numbers have declined significantly with a drop of 45% in the major breeding colony in the Auckland Islands. The only "sustainable" longline mortality for wandering albatross is zero.

Australia has developed a plan to reduce albatross and petrel deaths in their fishing zone. Other countries are developing similar plans. New Zealand has yet to finish one.

Mitigation Alone has Failed

Over the past ten years there has been research into measures to reduce the level of seabird deaths. Sadly this work has not achieved the desired result.

The principal mitigation measure used so far has been streamers (known as tori lines) which run from the stern of the boat. Although intended to discourage birds from taking baits, these lines do not prevent albatrosses being hooked, or petrels, which are able to dive deeper.

Setting the lines only at night has been tried, but albatross deaths can be high on clear nights with a full or near-full moon. The New Zealand Government has so far refused Forest and Bird's call to restrict fishing during the five days either side of the full moon, when the greatest number of birds are caught. Petrel deaths can also be higher during night sets.

Despite requirements to use standard tori lines for tuna boats, the rate of seabird deaths in tuna fisheries has not declined significantly. There are no requirements on non-tuna vessels that catch seabirds, for example, ling, bluenose and snapper.

Threatened albatross and petrel species

For species information go to BirdLife International

The BONN Convention and ACAP

New Zealand is a full party to the BONN Convention and has ratified ACAP. ACAP needs two more countries to ratify before it comes in to force internationally.

• International Agreements
• Regulations on seabirds

List of Albatross and Petrel Species Listed by the Bonn Convention and ACAP

* Reference for change in taxonomy

Photo: Albatrosses - mainly black browed - compete for food behind a tuna longline boat, attached to the 3000 baits a day set by the vessel. Plunging after the baits, the birds are often hooked and drowned.

All longlining nations have a responsibility to prevent the needless slaughter and death of seabirds.

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This page was updated on 4 May, 2005