Albatrosses and Longlining Fact Sheet

Short-tailed Albatross. Photo: USFWS

The name albatross is likely derived from the Spanish or Portuguese word alcatraz, meaning large bird.

Albatrosses are very long-lived birds. There are records of albatrosses living for over 80 years.

Albatrosses soar the world's oceans on long, slim wings. The Wandering Albatross has the largest wingspan of any bird, exceeding 11^1/2 feet.

Albatrosses have very low reproductive rates. Many only breed every other year and lay only a single egg. Some species do not begin to breed until they are 10 years old or more.

Almost all the world's albatross populations are declining, with 16 out of 21 species considered threatened under IUCN-World Conservation Union criteria.

A female albatross may fly thousands of miles to bring back food for her chick. She may be at sea for weeks at a time. Juvenile or non-breeding birds may circle the globe without touching land.

Longlines are used to catch tuna, swordfish, cod, halibut, Chilean sea bass and other fish. They stretch out from the stern of a fishing vessel for 60 miles or more, and can carry 30,000 baited hooks.

Laysan Albatross. Photo: USFWS

The Hawaiian and Alaskan longline fisheries set more than 210 million hooks each year and kill thousands of albatrosses as bycatch.

Longlining is considered the most serious global threat to albatrosses and other seabirds.

A single bluefin tuna can bring up to $173,000 at market - an equivalent amount could provide bird-scaring lines for 667 fishing vessels.

Paired bird-scaring lines have been shown to reduce seabird bycatch by up to 92% in recent studies in Alaska.

Estimates suggest that as many as 333,000 seabirds, including 67,000 albatrosses, were killed in "pirate" Chilean seabass (Patagonian toothfish) fisheries between 1997 and 2000.