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Sir David Attenborough sends a personal plea:
 The lamented subject of the 'Rime
of the Ancient Mariner', an epic poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, is in
danger.
Every
year 100,000
albatrosses are
killed by longline
fishing. These
lines can stretch
for 30 miles or
more behind the
boats with up to
10,000 baited
hooks. Satisfying
our demand for
halibut, cod,
tuna, swordfish
and other
sought-after
catches, these
hooks can reel in
all sorts of
other, unintended
victims from the
sea, among them
seabirds like the
albatross. Albatrosses
can live to be
over 50 years old
and have some of
the largest
wingspans of any
birds. They can
soar the ocean on
wings up to 12
feet across for
weeks or even
months at a time.
A single
journey can
cover thousands of
miles in search
for food.
The
return to land is
only for breeding
or feeding its
single, hungry
chick. So a trail
of squid, used as
bait from the
stern of a
longliner to
attract large
fish, is
attractive to a
hungry bird. This
tantalizingly easy
meal floating on
the surface of the
water is attached
to a three inch
hook. The
albatross dives to
the bait and,
unless it misses,
bites through to
the hook. The bird
is then dragged
struggling under
the surface of the
water and drowns
being unable to
free itself.
 Hundreds
of miles away the
hungry chick waits
for a meal that
never comes. It
starves to death. This
scenario is having
a devastating
impact on whole
populations of
albatrosses.
Scientists now
fear that unless
urgent action is
taken, many
seabird species
will become
extinct. One
solution to this
problem would be
the use of
bird-scaring
lines. This would
ensure that we can
still enjoy
seafood safely in
the knowledge that
no albatrosses or
other seabirds
have died in
bringing the catch
to our tables. Sir
David Attenborough
now adds his
personal plea to save
albatrosses.
By the end of
the year thousands of albatrosses will have died needlessly, victims of a longline fishing industry that doesn't mean to kill them.
Long-time supporter of the campaign to save these magnificent seabirds, Sir David Attenborough has once again voiced his concern for their plight.
'One of my most memorable moments was sitting eyeball-to-eyeball with a wandering albatross chick on the remote Atlantic island of South Georgia. It is possible that this bird may have joined the hundreds of thousands of albatrosses which have died on a fisherman's
longline' said Sir David.
'For an albatross, taking a fish from a baited hook is no different to a blue tit taking peanuts from a garden feeder. The contrast is that the albatross will pay the heaviest price of all for its meal - its life.'
Source: RSPB Public Affairs department
31 January 2006
During an address on April 7, 2004 The
Prince of Wales said,
"In many ways, the albatross may be the ultimate test
of whether or not, as a species ourselves, we are
serious about conservation: capable of co-existing on
this planet with other species. Or are we going to
sacrifice what's left of wisdom on the altar of
short-term gain?"
From within the mist...
...we now find hope
For, on February 23, 2009 His Royal Highness The
Prince of Wales heard how, for every 100 albatrosses
being killed in longline fisheries in South African
waters in 2006, 85 are now being saved. This is due to
the efforts of the Albatross Task Force (formed in 2006
by
Birdlife and
RSPB)
which works with the government and the fishing
industry.
THE
RACE IS ON......to
save the
albatross. Here
are some links to
campaign partners
where you can find
more information
and ways you can
help. Please add your
voice to this campaign. Click on the following links
(each will open in a new window) for access to more information and ways you may like to help.
Here is my Albatross Guestbook especially for
you to show your support for the campaign:
Read for Yourself:
Rime of the Ancient Mariner
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