High-seas heroes saving albatrosses from extinction: a decade of success | BirdLife
In 2004, 19 of the world’s 22 albatross species were threatened with extinction, due largely to commercial fishing practices. An international team of expert instructors has since spent a decade working with fishermen refining techniques to prevent these magnificent seabirds from needlessly dying behind fishing boats and has had great success!
A snapshot of ten years of the ATF: the smell of squid, the sound of the roaring waves, spending weeks at sea, building relationships with fishermen, being seasick, the agony of watching albatrosses drown on hooks knowing that there are chicks back on land waiting for them, the joy of watching such massive graceful birds soaring above the waves, seeking funding, teaching fishermen about birds, being laughed at, being respected, meeting in ports, meeting in board rooms, testing bird-scaring lines, testing them again, the pride in watching fishermen use the lines voluntarily, or ministers adopting them as law. It has been quite a ride.
In 2004, 19 of the world’s 22 albatross species were threatened with extinction, due largely to commercial fishing practices. An international team of expert instructors has since spent a decade working with fishermen refining techniques to prevent these magnificent seabirds from needlessly dying behind fishing boats and has had great success!
A snapshot of ten years of the ATF: the smell of squid, the sound of the roaring waves, spending weeks at sea, building relationships with fishermen, being seasick, the agony of watching albatrosses drown on hooks knowing that there are chicks back on land waiting for them, the joy of watching such massive graceful birds soaring above the waves, seeking funding, teaching fishermen about birds, being laughed at, being respected, meeting in ports, meeting in board rooms, testing bird-scaring lines, testing them again, the pride in watching fishermen use the lines voluntarily, or ministers adopting them as law. It has been quite a ride.