Seabird Bycatch in Longline Fisheries

Seabird bycatch on longline hooks kills hundreds of thousands of birds annually, including threatened albatross species.

Key Facts

An estimated 320,000 seabirds are killed as bycatch in longline fisheries annually
Albatross populations are declining across 15 of 22 species, driven primarily by longline bycatch
Bird-scaring lines (tori lines), underwater setting, and night-time setting reduce bycatch by over 90%
South Africa's longline tuna fishery reduced seabird bycatch by 85% through mandatory mitigation measures
All available seabird bycatch mitigation measures cost less than 0.5% of total fishery operating costs

Welfare Considerations

Seabirds caught on longline hooks typically drown after being hooked during bait-setting. The process involves injury from the hook, then drowning — a prolonged welfare event. Albatrosses, which mate for life and breed slowly, suffer additional population-level welfare impacts as the removal of breeding adults leaves surviving mates unable to reproduce. The solutions — tori lines, line weighting, underwater setting — are cheap, effective, and in most cases commercially neutral. The gap between available solutions and their implementation reflects regulatory failure.

What You Can Do

Choose tuna and other longline-caught fish from certified fisheries with seabird mitigation
Support BirdLife International's albatross task force campaigns
Advocate for mandatory seabird bycatch mitigation in all longline fisheries globally
Learn about the specific seabird species threatened by longline fishing
Support national implementation of the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels