Albatross Conservation

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Albatrosses are members of the family Diomedeidae (named for the Greek figure Diomedes, who in mythology has his companions turned into large seabirds after a storm blew them off course), in the order Procellariformes ("a violent wind").  Procellariformes are also known as Tubenosed seabirds because of the prominent tube-like structures over the nares of all species in the order.  Procellariformes have enlarged nasal glands for excreting salt from their system, which is important for a bird without access to freshwater.  Procellarifornes are seafarers that spend the majority of their time over open ocean, traveling on long narrow wings with tendons that lock the shoulder in the open position.  This design is ideally suited to gliding.  The Wandering Albatross and Southern Royal Albatross are also distinct in having the longest wings of any living bird, spanning up to 12 feet but more commonly between 10-11 feet.  Despite their incredible physiology, 19 of the 21 species of albatross are in danger of extinction, and so are many other types of tubenosed seabirds.  Why?

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Albatrosses and other Procellariformes are socially monogamous birds that form pair-bonds lasting for a season or, with many species, the entire breeding history of the bird.  There are records of fulmars using the same nest with the same partner for 25+ years, and a female-female pair of Laysan Albatrosses for 19 years (so far).  Most species of albatrosses have a 60+ year lifespan and start breeding between 8 and 15, so a pair may be together for 50 years!  The average albatross "divorce" rate is ~16% at a favorable colony, and only occurs after repeated failure to fledge offspring.  Albatrosses lay one egg every year or every few years, and their chicks take longer to fledge than any other type of bird--approximately 160 days for the smaller species, and up to 280 days for the larger species.  That is an exceptionally long time for a bird!  Even with the diligent care their parents provide, most young albatrosses don't survive to breeding age.
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Their reproductive behavior helps explain why albatrosses are vulnerable to extinction; they can't replace their numbers quickly.  But what threats do albatrosses and other procellariformes face in the wild?  Many die from accidentally ingesting fishing material discarded along with fish scraps.  A barbed fish hook lodged in the throat or stomach is an incredibly cruel and extended way to die.  But most albatrosses are killed by organized fishing--longlining, and trawling.  Longline fishing involves baited hooks strung out up to 130 km behind a boat; albatrosses (reasonably) mistake the bait for food and swallow the hooks.  This method kills an estimated 100,000 albatrosses a year.  Trawl fishing entraps surface-fishing albatrosses in nets, where they strangle to death or drown.  Data does not exist on the estimated global death toll from this method, but a single trawling fishery recorded 12,000 deaths in a year.  Both fishing methods also kill thousands of other seabirds, including other endangered species of Procellariformes.  
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If you want to know what can be done to prevent the extinction of many of these species of seabirds within YOUR lifetime, please check out BirdLife International's Save The Albatross campaign www.rspb.org.uk/supporting/cam… and spread the message among your families and friends.  Thanks to sootyalbatross for bringing the website to my attention.