Conservation
| Breeding Location | Breeding Pair | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Midway Atoll | 24,000 | -9.6% from 1992 to 2001 |
| Laysan Island | 21,000 | -9.6% from 1992 to 2001 |
| French Frigate Shoals | 17,895 | -9.6% from 1992 to 2001 |
| Torishima | 1,218 | Unknown |
| Bonin Islands | 23 | Unknown |
| Islas Guadalupe | 337 | Unknown |
| Other offshore Mexican islands | 63 | unknown |
| Total | 64,500 | -60% over 56 years |
The Black-footed Albatross is considered vulnerable by the IUCN, because it is taken incidentally by longline fishing. An estimated 4,000 are taken every year, based on the number taken in 1990; other estimates put the number at 8,000, although more recent numbers are at around 6,150 per year with the majority of deaths from Taiwanese and Japanese fishing fleets. It is also vulnerable to oil and ingestion of floating plastics, which reduces the space in the stomach available for food to be brought to the chick. Finally volcanic eruptions on Torishima continues to be a threat.
The Black-footed Albatross has an occurrence range of 37,600,000 km2 (14,500,000 sq mi) and a breeding range of 28 km2 (11 sq mi), with a population of 129,000 adult birds. Of these birds 24,000 pair breed on Midway Atoll and 21,000 pair breed on Laysan Island. Torishima has 1,218 pair, the Bonin Islands have 23 pair and there are about 400 pair on offshore Mexican islands with 337 on Islas Guadalupe. All of these numbers come from estimates from 2005 to 2007.
All of its nesting sites in the U.S. are protected, along with a 50 nmi (93 km) buffer zone around these islands. Within this buffer zone longline fishing is outlawed. Almost 80% of the breeding population is counted or sampled each year and most fisheries utilize seabird bycatch prevention measures.
Read more about this topic: Black-footed Albatross
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