Did you know that 19 of the world’s 21 species of albatross are seriously threatened by longlining, a form of sea fishing? The most at-risk species, the Amsterdam Albatross, has only 17 breeding pairs remaining in the wild.
100,000 albatrosses die each year on fishing hooks, many from longline fishing. Longline fishing fleets set out lines as long as 80 miles. Each line contains thousands of hooks baited with squid and fish, which attract the albatrosses. It is estimated that a third of the albatross deaths are caused by illegal fishing operations.
Save the Albatross is a campaign begun in 2000 by the organzation Bird Life International, in partnership with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
The website of the campaign highlights solutions to the problems caused by longline fishing. It also outlines steps the organization has taken to save albatrosses all around the world. Albatross species and their way of life are also explained in detail. How the campaign is progressing and how readers can help the campaign are also topics.
