An assessment of seabird–fishery interactions in the Atlantic Ocean

A significant threat to seabird populations, particularly albatrosses, stems from incidental mortality in fisheries, with the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) longline fisheries catching substantial numbers of seabirds. This study assessed the impact of ICCAT fisheries on over 60 seabird populations, identifying at-risk species and estimating bycatch. The research revealed that unmitigated mortality could lead to declines in breeding bird numbers, endangering the long-term viability of key populations such as wandering and black-browed albatrosses from South Georgia and Atlantic yellow-nosed and Tristan albatrosses from Gough Island. The assessment framework combined population identification, overlap analyses, bycatch estimation, and demographic evaluations, highlighting the urgent need for conservation measures to protect these vulnerable species.

Tuck, G. N., Phillips, R. A., Small, C., Thomson, R. B., Klaer, N. L., Taylor, F., Wanless, R. M., & Arrizabalaga, H. (2011). An assessment of seabird–fishery interactions in the Atlantic Ocean. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68(8), 1628–1637. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsr118