Seabird Welfare: Plastic, Bycatch, and Colony Collapse

Seabirds are among the most threatened bird groups globally. Their welfare is affected by plastic ingestion, bycatch in fishing gear, and the catastrophic decline of their prey.

Key Facts

Approximately 40% of seabird species are in decline
Albatrosses are the most threatened family of birds — 15 of 22 species are at risk
An estimated 300,000 seabirds are killed as bycatch in longline fisheries annually
Over 90% of seabirds have ingested plastic — chicks are fed plastic by parents who mistake it for food
Plastic ingestion causes internal injury, starvation, and toxic accumulation
Climate change is reducing fish availability and sea surface temperatures critical to seabird foraging

Welfare Considerations

Seabirds caught on longline hooks experience prolonged drowning — a death that can take minutes to hours depending on how quickly they are pulled under. Chicks fed plastic pieces by parents suffer from internal obstructions and malnutrition; necropsies of petrel chicks show stomachs full of plastic bottle caps and fragments with no food. Colony-nesting seabirds experience population-level welfare collapse when prey fish are depleted — chick abandonment, mass starvation, and progressive breeding failure. Climate-driven prey shifts force seabirds to travel much longer distances to find food, increasing parental stress and chick starvation rates.

What You Can Do

Support Birdlife International campaigns for seabird-safe longline fishing gear
Reduce plastic use and support ocean plastic removal initiatives
Donate to organisations monitoring seabird colonies and tracking population health
Advocate for forage fish protection in seabird foraging areas