DOC's work with royal albatross/toroa
DOC initiatives to protect royal albatross/toroa include Southern Seabird Solutions, which promote better fishing practises that do not catch seabirds. A combination of regulation and innovative techniques such as bird-scaring lines, weighted lines, underwater bait-setting devices and retention of offal can reduce the by-catch of albatrosses.
Sample being taken from the gullet of a
Southern royal albatross chick for the
national wildlife health monitoring
programme, Campbell Island
A convention prohibiting fishing with long drift nets in the South Pacific was signed in New Zealand in 1989 and entered into force in 1991. This paved the way for a United Nations resolution in 1991 calling for a global moratorium on long drift nets on the high seas. Thousands of seabirds die in the northern hemisphere each year from swallowing small pieces of plastic. Although it is thought to be less of a problem in New Zealand, regurgitated plastics are often found beside royal albatross nests on Campbell Island.
Contacts
DOC HOTline - 24 hour emergency number
Phone 0800 DOC HOTline (0800 362 468) to report:
Sick or injured wildlife
Whale or dolphin strandings