Agreement On The Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels - Albatrosses and Petrels

Albatrosses and Petrels

Albatrosses and petrels are migratory seabirds which mainly breed on remote offshore islands and forage over the open sea. They can travel enormous distances across oceans during foraging flights and migratory journeys.

Albatrosses and petrels are among the most threatened groups of birds in the world. Of the world's 22 species of albatrosses, 17 are currently categorized on the IUCN Red List as critically endangered, endangered, or vulnerable. The remaining five are listed as Near Threatened. Four of the ACAP-listed petrels are categorized as Vulnerable, one is Near Threatened and the two giant petrels are categorized as Least Concern.

This is due to a combination of threats that have drastically reduced the populations of albatrosses and petrels, including:

• Hunting and poaching for eggs, meat, and feathers;
• Habitat destruction;
• The introduction of non-native predators
• The use of longline fishing, used to catch finfish and sharks; thousands of seabirds are caught with a main line and hooks attached to branchlines, causing them to be pulled under the water by the weight of the line and drown. This threat can be reduced by modification of fishing practices and adaptation of bycatch mitigation measures. Such measures include the use of (sometimes paired) bird-scaring lines carrying streamers, weighted lines to reduce the amount of time baits are available to birds at and near the sea surface, setting lines at night, setting lines beneath the sea surface, and seasonal closures of fisheries to avoid fishing when birds are more susceptible to being caught, such as around nesting colonies during the breeding season.

Paired bird-scaring lines are also a suitable deterrent that reduces mortality of seabirds in trawl fisheries, mainly from albatrosses colliding with warp cables. Avoiding offal discharge (which attracts scavenging seabirds such as albatrosses and petrels) during trawling also helps reduce mortality.