Albatross SOS

Manmade threats mean 15 of the 22 species of Albatross are facing extinction. It’s estimated 100,000 birds are killed as bycatch every year in fisheries. But BirdLife and our Partners are turning the tide on extinction.

Photography by Steph B Borelle

Currently 15 of the 22 Albatross species are threatened with extinction.

Long-lived and monogamous, a breeding pair will lay a single egg every one to two years. With such slow breeding, any losses make them vulnerable to extinction, and it’s human activities that are threatening these incredible birds.

It’s estimated that global fishing fleets kill at least 100,000 Albatrosses every year in high seas fisheries alone.

Known as bycatch, albatrosses are killed unintentionally by fishing boats. Birds are drawn to the possibility of an easy meal by bait and discarded fish. But the baited steel hooks on longlines, intended for catching fish, instead drag the birds down under the water to drown. Or birds collide with the cables that tow nets from trawlers.

But these losses are avoidable. BirdLife and its Partners are working hard on the frontline to prevent it. With your support we can turn the tide on extinction.

Thank you for your gift. Your donation will be used to support our work wherever the need is greatest.