Seabirds are killed in enormous numbers as bycatch in longline fishing operations, and simple mitigation measures can dramatically reduce this welfare and conservation toll.
Seabird bycatch in longline fisheries is one of the most tractable large-scale wildlife welfare problems — the solutions are known, tested, and inexpensive relative to the welfare cost of inaction. Albatrosses and other seabirds that become hooked on longlines die from asphyxiation while entangled underwater, an acute and distressing death experienced by hundreds of thousands of individual birds annually. Bird scaring lines attached above the water surface near the setting point, weighted lines that carry hooks below diving depth quickly, and night setting when seabirds are less active all dramatically reduce bycatch with minimal impact on fishing operations. The barrier is adoption: getting all operators in high-risk fisheries to use all available mitigation measures consistently. Consumer demand for seafood from certified bycatch-reduced fisheries creates one lever; regulatory requirements create another.