A more targeted approach to cleaning up plastic in the ocean could help to reduce seabird deaths, a researcher says. The idea from a New Zealand researcher comes amid predictions there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean within the next 30 years.
The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission has moved to further safeguard seabirds from becoming tuna bycatch. Last year, it adopted the Seabird Conservation and Management Measure.
The Farallon Islands of northern California are one of the world’s great biodiversity hotspots.
Migratory short-tailed shearwaters are Australia’s most numerous seabird, but washed-up carcasses, late arrivals and low numbers have conservationists worried. The carcasses began to arrive in July.
A government plan to save thousands of seabirds from being killed by the fishing industry each year has been called weak and ineffective. The action plan details what fishers should do to avoid hooking endangered seabirds, but Forest & Bird said there were no penalties for not following
