Albatross under threat

2001-10-17 13:15

Jorisna Bonthuys

Cape Town - There are grave concerns in the conservation fraternity over the fate of the albatross, wayfarer of the seas, whose numbers decline annually by up to 10 percent. The bird species is the most vulnerable on Earth.

The latest figures produced by Bird Life International suggest that a total of 20 of the 21 albatross species globally are regarded as threatened or seriously threatened.

Humankind is responsible for a huge contribution to this alarming trend. Fish resources are over exploited, while people disturb sensitive breeding colonies of the birds.

The future of the albatross, harbingers of good news in the days of sailing ships as their presence reportedly predicted strong winds, however, is closely associated with long-line fishing practices, Dr Peter Ryan a Percy Fitzpatrick Institute researcher believes.

While albatrosses wander across the southern oceans their paths often cross those of long line trawlers trailing fishing lines of R100 km and equipped with thousands of fishing hooks.

Thousands of albatrosses, hurricane birds, marine turtles and sharks die when the lines are put down without proper precautionary measures. Marine birds bite on the hooks and drown when they dive for bait.

Although certain sectors of the fishing industry, Ryan maintains, have cleaned up their act over the past four years, the tuna industry claims 40 000 albatrosses annually in the southern oceans and in local waters up to 30 000.

Measures to stabilise albatross numbers include nocturnal fishing as well as education programmes to use scarecrow fishing lines.

Although some of the requirements are included in permit regulations, many still ignore them. The toothed fishing industry (which also implements long lines) is currently being monitored successfully, compared to only 10 percent of hake fishing trawlers. Tuna fishermen, as well as deep sea trawlers and poachers appear to be the main offenders.

The recent international albatross and hurricane bird protection agreement will be enforced from next year, although some guidelines are already being implemented. The agreement resorts under the Bonn protocol for the protection of migratory species.

Albatrosses are known for their grace in wandering the oceans. The birds are remarkable in that they are able to glide for several hours, hardly flapping their wings throughout. They achieve this feat by using the wind in maintaining speed and height.

Satellite transmitters attached to albatrosses have shown that a breeding pair - albatrosses generally mate for life - during the breeding season are able to undertake journeys of 10 000 km at a time (at 90km/h) in search of food.

With a wingspan of 3.5 m the wandering albatross has the longest wings of all birds on Earth. Their "unique flight equipment" in fact turn these birds into veritable "corks", trapping air and preventing them from diving too deep down resulting in them having to live off dead octopuses and bait.

Bigger species are able to dive no deeper than 2 m, compared to the smaller kinds that can reach a depth of 10 m. These are the bird that often get hooked by long line trawlers.

The giant seafarers, able to live for up to 60 years only reach sexual maturity at between 8 - 10 years. If one of a pair dies, it takes its mate a few years to find a new mate. A small number of deaths Ryan maintains, can therefore result in radical consequences to the bird species who produce one chick annually during their slow breeding cycle.

- Die Burger