Prince and Dame Ellen lend support to albatross campaign

Prince Charles and record-breaking yachtswoman Dame Ellen MacArthur have both lent their support to a campaign to save the albatross from extinction.

Nineteen of the twenty-one species of albatross are currently facing extinction because of longlining, a fishing method that kills 300,000 seabirds and hundreds of thousands of sharks and turtles each year. The animals accidentally swallow baited fishing hooks and are then dragged underwater and drown.

The Prince of Wales and Dame Ellen are both expected to attend a gala dinner tonight in London, to launch Operation Ocean Task Force, a plan by the RSPB and BirdLife International, which will establish a team of experts to train fishermen on how best to prevent seabird deaths.

Prince Charles, a long-time supporter of the campaign, said: “To me, 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.”

Dame Ellen described the albatross as “one of the most amazing birds in existence”. She said: “Several followed me at various points along my journey and they certainly gave me company on a very solitary trip. I hope we are still able to save these magnificent creatures before it is too late.”

The RSPB and BirdLife International want to halt the decline in the population declines in the albatross species’ by ensuring that all the world’s longline fishing fleets use mitigation measures to prevent seabirds being hooked and drowned. They are also campaigning to eliminate pirate-fishing vessels, which, the groups claim, are hindering international efforts to address the problem.

Ben Sullivan, BirdLife’s Global Seabird Co-ordinator said that the introduction of the Agreement for the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, which came into force in 2004 was “a massive step forward” in the battle to save the albatross, but said that it was “only part of the solution”. He said: “Fishermen don’t want to kill albatrosses any more than you or I and it’s in their interest not to: the more bait stolen by seabirds, the fewer fish they’re able to catch.”

BirdLife International suggested that the solution could include the adoption of simple and inexpensive measures, such as weighting lines to make them sink faster and flying bird-scaring “tori-“ lines, which the new Operation Ocean Task Force would show fishermen how to do.

Graham Wynne, Chief Executive of the RSPB said: “The plight of the albatross is one of the most critical issues we have faced and the support of the Prince of Wales and Ellen MacArthur is invaluable. There are 100,000 albatrosses being slaughtered by longliners every year and without urgent action, most of them will soon be gone for good.”

(KMcA/SP)