Admin Table of Contents
How can we protect sea birds?
Use barbless fishing hooks, artificial lures, and weighted fishing lines to avoid hooking seabirds. Recycle or dispose of fishing hooks and line in the trash and keep water and surrounding areas free of debris. Avoid disturbing resting or feeding seabirds by steering your boat around the flock rather than through them.
Are albatrosses protected?
As a leader in international ocean conservation, the U.S. already protects the three species of albatrosses and petrels that breed within the U.S. via the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Endangered Species Act. However, this level of protection is not available to these birds once they leave U.S. waters.
Why should we save albatross?
Ultimately, reducing seabird bycatch will not only improve the conservation of seabirds, but will also benefit the fishing industry, as less birds drowning on baited hooks means potentially more baited hooks available underwater to catch the intended target — fish.
What do you do if you catch a bird?
Firmly grasp the bird’s head behind the eyes. Then fold the wings up gently but firmly against the bird’s body so that it can’t flap its wings, and hold the legs. Hold firmly but don’t strangle the bird.
Are seabirds protected?
Of the thirty species of seabirds protected by the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP), twenty have a globally threatened status, including four species which are critically endangered.
How many albatross species are endangered?
15 species
An albatross legacy In fact, 15 species are listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered according to the IUCN Red List, the International Union for Conservation list of threatened species. Commercial fishing practices are considered the greatest threat to the survival of many albatross species.
What can albatrosses do?
Albatrosses use their formidable wingspans to ride the ocean winds and sometimes to glide for hours without rest or even a flap of their wings. They also float on the sea’s surface, though the position makes them vulnerable to aquatic predators. Albatrosses drink salt water, as do some other sea birds.
How does plastic pollution affect albatross?
In more polluted near-shore areas, such as those off Brazil, we estimate plastic ingestion causes 17.5% of all albatross deaths. Because albatrosses are highly migratory, even those birds that live in less polluted areas are at risk as they wander the global ocean, travelling to polluted waters.
How do you unhook a bird?
VIEW OUR “HOW TO UNHOOK A BIRD” VIDEO HERE
- Get someone to assist you.
- Put on sunglasses or eye protection. (
- Reel the bird in slowly and steadily, and lift with a net if necessary.
- Grasp the bird firmly.
- Fold the wings gently and firmly against its body. (
- ALWAYS cut the barb off the hook.