Wild Seabird Bycatch and Fishing Gear Welfare

Seabirds including albatrosses, petrels, and shearwaters are killed in large numbers as bycatch in longline and trawl fisheries, with acute welfare impacts and conservation consequences.

Key Facts

An estimated 300,000 seabirds are killed as fishing bycatch annually; albatrosses are among the most affected groups
Nineteen of twenty-two albatross species are threatened or endangered; fishing bycatch is a primary cause of mortality
Longline hooks baited with fish attract seabirds that dive for bait and become hooked, drowning as the line sinks
Tori lines (streamers that scare birds away from baited hooks) reduce seabird bycatch by 70-96% in trials
Weighted lines that sink quickly below diving depth also reduce bycatch by reducing the window of hook accessibility
Night setting of longlines reduces bycatch of some surface-diving species that do not forage at night
Albatrosses have extremely low reproductive rates — one chick every two years — making adult mortality demographically devastating
The Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) coordinates international seabird bycatch reduction measures

Welfare Considerations

Seabird bycatch causes deaths that are typically not instantaneous: a bird hooked on a longline sinks with the gear, drowning over minutes as the line reaches depth. This is a prolonged, acute welfare harm that occurs hundreds of thousands of times annually across global longline fisheries. The technology to dramatically reduce seabird bycatch exists and is proven: tori lines, weighted lines, and modified setting practices reduce mortality by 70-96% in trials. The barrier is adoption and enforcement — many fisheries lack requirements for these measures, and compliance monitoring is difficult. Consumer demand for seabird-safe certified seafood, and regulatory requirements for mandatory bycatch mitigation on longline vessels, are the primary levers available for welfare improvement at scale.

What You Can Do

Choose seafood from fisheries certified under schemes that include seabird bycatch reduction standards
Support the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and BirdLife International campaigns on seabird bycatch reduction
Advocate for mandatory tori line and weighted line requirements for longline fisheries in your country regulatory framework
Follow ACAP updates on albatross bycatch reduction progress and support their international coordination work