Editing Bycatch (section)

===Albatross===
{{see also|Longline fishing}}
[[File:Albatross hook.jpg|thumb|left|[[Black-browed albatross]] hooked on a long-line|alt=Photo of bird struggling to fly away]]

Of the 22 [[albatross]] species recognised by IUCN on their [[IUCN Red List|Red List]], 15 are [[Threatened species|threatened with extinction]], six species are considered as [[Near-threatened species|Near Threatened]], and only one of [[Least-concern species|Least Concern]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=BirdLife Data Zone |url=http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/results?cmn=albatross&cty=0&fam=0&gen=0&kw=&reg=0&spc=&thrlev1=&thrlev2=&so=rl |access-date=2022-12-28 |website=datazone.birdlife.org}}</ref> Two species, the [[Tristan albatross]] and the [[waved albatross]], are considered as [[Critically Endangered]].<ref name=":1" /> One of the main threats is commercial [[longline fishing]],<ref>{{cite journal |author=Brothers NP |year=1991 |title=Albatross mortality and associated bait loss in the Japanese longline fishery in the southern ocean |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=55 |issue=3 |pages=255–268 |doi=10.1016/0006-3207(91)90031-4|bibcode=1991BCons..55..255B }}</ref> because albatrosses and other [[seabird]]s which readily feed on [[offal]] are attracted to the set bait, after which they become hooked on the lines and drown. An estimated 100,000 albatross per year are killed in this fashion. Unregulated [[Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing|pirate fisheries]] exacerbate the problem.

A research study examined the impact of illegal [[longline fishing]] vessels on albatrosses, by using [[environmental criminology]] as a guiding theoretical framework.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Petrossian |first1=Gohar A. |last2=Pires |first2=Stephen F. |last3=Sosnowski |first3=Monique |last4=Venu |first4=Prabha |last5=Olah |first5=George |date=2022 |title=Threats of Longline Fishing to Global Albatross Diversity |journal=Animals |language=en |volume=12 |issue=7 |page=887 |doi=10.3390/ani12070887 |pmid=35405876 |pmc=8997039 |issn=2076-2615|doi-access=free }} {{Creative Commons text attribution notice|cc=by4|from this source=yes}}</ref> The results indicated that potentially illegal longline fishing activities are highly concentrated in areas of illegally-caught fish species, and the risk to bycatch albatrosses is significantly higher in areas where these illegal longline fishing vessels operate.<ref name=":2" /> These findings provide strong grounding that illegal longline fishing poses a particularly serious threat to the survival of [[seabird]]s.
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