Fishing gear entanglement is a leading cause of injury and death for seabirds globally. Simple modifications to fishing gear and operations can dramatically reduce seabird welfare harm.
Seabirds entangled in fishing gear experience death by drowning, which involves a prolonged period of struggling before unconsciousness and death. The welfare harm of individual entanglement is acute and distressing. At population level, entanglement represents one of the most significant unaddressed threats to seabird populations globally — species that breed slowly and invest heavily in individual offspring cannot sustain high mortality from human activity. The welfare and conservation response is identical: reduced gear entanglement through equipment modification, time-area management, and fisheries practice change protects both individuals and populations.