Hundreds of albatross saved from deadly fishing hooks
Following yesterday’s story of how human efforts are helping the North American whale population comes good news about another aristocrat of the seas. Conservationists report an 85 percent reduction in the number of albatrosses killed by fishing boats in South African waters since a task force to save the birds was set up in 2006.
Around 100,000 albatross are estimated to drown globally each year after getting caught on the baited hooks of longline fishing vessels, hunting the seas for swordfish, tuna and other lucrative catch.
For a species with an exceptionally slow reproductive cycle that rate of attrition has proved catastrophic. Albatross can live up to 60 years but only produce one chick a year, often on a two-year cycles. They also pair for life and can spend years searching for a new mate when one dies.
Eighteen of the species’ 22 birds are now threatened with extinction, with four types of albatross listed as critically endangered by Birdlife International.
But the new initiative being trialled in South Africa suggests that many thousands of albatross deaths could be easily averted.
The Albatross Task Force was set up in 2006 by Birdlife International and the UK’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds with the goal of educating fishing crews about some simple steps they can take to prevent the birds getting hooked on their lines.
The project now has 10 instructors working aboard fishing vessels. Techniques they have implemented include getting crews to tie bright pink streamers to the sterns of their ships to scare the birds away, weighting fishing lines so the baited hooks sink quicker, and dying bait blue to prevent albatrosses spot it in the water. Crews are also encouraged to fish at night when the birds are less active.
New fishing laws in South Africa also mean that boats can lose their licences if they catch 25 or more albatross in a year. “Fishermen now understand that in order to continue fishing they must avoid killing seabirds, and are very cooperative,” said Meidad Goren of BirdLife South Africa’s Albatross Task Force team.
So far the task force’s results have been impressive. In 2008 just 153 albatross died in South African waters, down from more than 1,000 a year earlier, prompting hopes that the success of the scheme can be replicated in every one of the world’s oceans.
“The success of the task force has been amazing, as the South African fishery impacts on some of the world’s most threatened seabirds,” said Ben Sullivan, Coordinator of the BirdLife Global Seabird Programme.
“By making such a positive move here, we are now hoping for greater success in other areas, particularly in Namibia and both coasts of South America.”
Albatross are possibly the most well-travelled creatures on the planet, soaring over oceans and entire continents in epic journeys many thousands of miles in distance in search of food, with some species spending up to five years in the air in a single flight.
Visit the Save the Albatross website for more information about the task force.
