Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross  (Thalassarche chlororhynchos)

As a scavenger of fishing vessel bait, the Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross is suffering population declines as a result of longline fishing. Longlining is mainly used to catch tuna and swordfish by releasing a line of baited hooks that sink to the appropriate depth for these fish. Many seabirds dive for the bait before it has sunk, becoming caught on the hooks and drowning as the line reaches its final depth. The Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross attends trawlers off the coast of south-eastern Brazil and the west coast of southern Africa (2). It also suffers losses as a result of collisions with cables on trawl vessels (6).

The Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross is monitored on Gough Island, which is both a nature reserve and a World Heritage Site. A population census was carried out in 2000/2001 and was repeated in 2004. Remote tracking has also been used in order to determine the distribution of these birds at sea. The information obtained will be used to assess the overlap between the birds and longline fishing operations. Longline fishing is controversial and techniques to reduce the seabird catch have been suggested, such as weighting lines to sink them more rapidly, and setting them at night (2). A Threat Abatement Plan has been put into action by the Australian government, which proposes to promote public awareness of the conservation needs of albatrosses and to reduce the by-catch of this species and other albatross species (6).