Conservation
| Breeding Location | Breeding Pair | Trend |
| Isla de la Plata | 20 to 40 | unknown |
| Galapagos Islands | 34,660 | 1 to 19% decline over 84 years |
| Total | 34,700 | 1 to 19% decline over 84 years |
The population of Waved Albatrosses on the Galápagos is protected by national park personnel, and the island is also categorized as a World Heritage Site. But limited range, bycatch by long-line fishing, disturbance via tourism, disease, and the effects of illegal fishing in the nearby waters place them in considerable jeopardy. Especially long-line fishing seems to be making a severe impact on the species, which was uplisted to Vulnerable from Near Threatened by the IUCN in 2000. Despite some 34,700 adult birds still occurring in 2001, their numbers have apparently started to decrease at an unknown rate more recently, probably due to longline fishing which also upsets the sex ratio (males being killed more frequently). As the current situation makes the population highly vulnerable to a catastrophic collapse to extinction, it was uplisted to Critically Endangered status in the 2007 IUCN Red List.
The population of 34,700 adult birds was based on a 2001 estimate; however in 1970 and 1971 there were an estimated 24,000, and 1994 saw between 31,200 and 36,400. This species has an occurrence range of 1,750,000 km2 (680,000 sq mi), and a breeding range of 9 km2 (3.5 sq mi).
Read more about this topic: Waved Albatross
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