Seabird Bycatch and Fishing Welfare

Hundreds of thousands of seabirds are accidentally killed each year in longline and gillnet fisheries, including many threatened albatross species.

Key Facts

An estimated 300,000 seabirds are killed as bycatch in fishing operations annually
Albatrosses are among the most affected, with multiple species critically endangered from bycatch
Bird-scaring lines, night setting, and line weighting reduce seabird bycatch by up to 90%
The Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels works to implement bycatch mitigation
Bycatch deaths are typically drowning or trauma — both causing significant suffering

Welfare Considerations

Seabird bycatch on longlines and in gillnets causes suffering to hundreds of thousands of individual birds annually, including drowning and entanglement trauma. The species most affected — albatrosses, petrels, and shearwaters — are long-lived, slow-reproducing birds where even modest mortality increases can drive population collapse. The technical solutions exist and are cost-effective: bird-scaring lines, weighted lines that sink quickly, and avoiding setting during peak seabird activity periods can dramatically reduce bycatch. Implementation is primarily a regulatory and compliance challenge.

What You Can Do

Choose seafood certified by schemes requiring seabird bycatch mitigation measures
Support organizations like BirdLife International working on seabird bycatch reduction
Advocate for mandatory bycatch mitigation requirements in national fishing regulations
Learn to identify seafood products from fisheries with documented seabird bycatch problems