FLUORESCENT pink strips are helping to save albatrosses and petrels from extinction.
Baited hooks on the long fishing lines used to catch tuna and swordfish snag and kill some 100,000 albatrosses and petrels worldwide a year. In a bid to reduce this toll, the UK charity tied pink strips to the fishing lines used by the long-line fishing fleets roaming South African waters throughout 2008. The idea was for the strips to frighten off the birds, stopping them from becoming entangled and drowning.
They found that only 153 petrels and albatrosses were killed by the long-line fishing fleets that year 鈥� . 鈥淭hey form a visible deterrent and a no-go zone close to the bait and fishing gear as it鈥檚 reeled out,鈥� says Graham Madge of the , a UK charity.
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鈥淭he pink strips reduced petrel and albatross deaths from long-line fishing by 85 per cent鈥�
The strips are only needed for 150 metres of the line before it is submerged and the bait sinks to depths of up to 60 metres, beyond the birds鈥� reach.
The task force wants countries to make bird conservation a legal obligation. Last year, a new South African law stated that vessels killing 25 or more birds would lose their licence. The method should help fishing fleets comply with the law. The strips are reusable and cheap, costing about $200 per ship, and don鈥檛 deplete the haul, says Madge.