How do albatross get caught by fishing hooks?
They are attracted to fishing boats because they know they can get a free meal. They try to take the fish and squid from the hooks to eat. Sometimes they are successful but a lot of the time the hook gets caught in their beak, they are pulled under the water and drown. In the Southern Oceans longline fishers hunt tuna, ling, snapper, hoki and toothfish. Lawful boats from many nations come to fish. But there are also many illegal fishing boats that dont obey international regulations. In 2001, illegal (or pirate) boats just hunting toothfish in Antarctic waters killed about 100,000 seabirds. Strict rules in Falkland Island waters control the commercial fishery so that seabird mortality has been reduced by 90%.
