Albatross Bycatch: Preventing Deaths on Longline Fishing Hooks

Longline fishing kills tens of thousands of albatrosses each year as they dive for bait on hooks, making bycatch the leading human-caused threat to albatross populations globally.

Key Facts

15 of 22 albatross species are threatened with extinction, primarily due to longline fishing bycatch
An estimated 100,000 albatrosses are killed each year by fishing gear, predominantly longlines
Albatrosses are attracted to bait fish attached to hooks as longlines are set — they dive and become hooked and drown
The Wandering Albatross (Diomedea exulans) has one of the longest lifespans of any bird — up to 70 years — but reproduces extremely slowly (one chick every two years)
Simple mitigation measures — bird-scaring lines, night setting, weighted lines that sink quickly — reduce bycatch by up to 95%
The Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) coordinates international bycatch mitigation
Albatrosses are monogamous and form lifelong pair bonds — the death of one partner leaves the survivor struggling to rebreed
Southern Ocean longline tuna and toothfish fisheries are the primary bycatch zones for most threatened albatross species

Welfare Considerations

Albatross bycatch causes deaths that are drowning events — a deeply welfare-relevant form of mortality. Hooked birds struggle and drown as the longline descends, or are drowned when hauled up with the gear. Some survive injury but are released in compromised condition. For a species that pairs for life, the death of one partner disrupts an established bond and often significantly reduces the survivor's future reproductive success. Chicks left in nests when both parents are killed face starvation. The scale of the problem — tens of thousands of deaths annually — is matched by the effectiveness of available solutions: bird-scaring lines and weighted branch lines cost little and work immediately. The welfare and conservation case for universal adoption of mitigation measures is overwhelming, but implementation remains incomplete across global fishing fleets.

What You Can Do

Choose tuna, toothfish, and seafood certified by Marine Stewardship Council programmes with bycatch mitigation requirements
Support BirdLife International's Save the Albatross campaign
Contact fishing companies and supermarkets urging adoption of bird-scaring and weighted line requirements
Support ACAP and governments that require fishing vessels to use bycatch mitigation measures in albatross zones
Raise awareness that common seafood choices have direct consequences for albatross populations
Advocate for satellite monitoring of longline fishing fleets to verify compliance with mitigation requirements