Albatross faces extinction in South Atlantic, say wildlife groups

The survival of the albatross in the South Atlantic is under threat, wildlife groups warn.

A third of the world's 1.7 million breeding pairs nest in the British overseas territories of the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Tristan da Cunha.

Yet it is feared that numbers are declining so fast, thanks to encroaching fishing fleets and the devastating loss of breeding habitats, that many species could soon be extinct.

Sir David Attenborough, vice-president of Falklands Conservation, the group whose report details a series of recommendations to save the majestic giant sea bird, said the future looked bleak. "The chance of an individual albatross surviving to old age now seems as remote as the ability of many albatross species to exist beyond the end of this century," he said.

Worst hit is the black-browed albatross, which has been lost at the rate of 18 breeding pairs a day for the last 10 years.

Atlantic yellow-nosed and Tristan Albatrosses breed nowhere else except the Tristan da Cunha Islands, and some 59 per cent of the world's Sooty Albatross pairs and 58 per cent of the world's Grey-headed Albatross breed there. They are disappearing at the rate 1 to 5 per cent of pairs a year.

To combat the decline, the report calls for the creation of a new scientific post in the South Atlantic, monitoring species. It also calls for immediate action to tackle infestations of mice and rats - introduced aboard boats arriving on the remote islands - which have resulted in the loss of thousands of eggs and chicks.

But man is having a devastating impact too. Unregulated long-line fishing for tuna and the Patagonian toothfish results in the death of vast numbers of birds each year.

Many become ensnared on baited hooks hung from 128km-long lines behind boats. There is also concern over commercial fishing for hake by South African fleets as well as the activities of trawlers from as far away as Brazil, Japan and Taiwan.

The report, which also examines the plight of petrels, whose numbers appear to be rising in the region, was produced after an international workshop held in the Falkland Islands this year. The authors of the report called for closer regulation and management of fisheries through international co-operation.

Alistair Gammell, of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, said it was time to act now. "Will the UK Government let albatrosses become extinct, or will it take action necessary to give them a future?"

- INDEPENDENT