Marine debris including fishing line, plastic packaging, and discarded gear entangles and injures seabirds at sea and on nesting colonies worldwide.
Seabirds entangled in fishing line or plastic debris experience prolonged suffering that is often invisible because it occurs at sea or within inaccessible nesting colonies. A gannet with monofilament fishing line wrapped around its bill cannot feed and starves over days or weeks. Chicks in nests that contain plastic strapping become entangled as they grow and die from constriction if the debris is not removed. Volunteer nest inspection programmes on accessible colonies — removing fishing line and plastic from nests before it entangles chicks — directly save individual bird lives. Addressing the source — reducing marine debris through improved waste management and fishing gear accountability — is the long-term solution.