The Albatross and the Fish Linked Lives in the Open Seas

About this book

Breeding on remote ocean islands and spending much of its life foraging for food across vast stretches of seemingly empty seas, the albatross remains a legend for most people. And yet, humans are threatening the albatross family to such an extent that it is currently the most threatened bird group in the world.

In this extensively researched, highly readable book, Robin W. Doughty and Virginia Carmichael sound an alarm over the potentially catastrophic extinction process that has gone largely unremarked by governments and fishing interests around the globe.

Doughty and Carmichael authoritatively establish that the albatross's fate is linked to the fate of two of the highest-value table fish, bluefin tuna and patagonian toothfish, which are threatened by unregulated commercial harvesting. The authors tell us that commercial fishing techniques are annually killing tens of thousands of albatrosses. And the authors explain how the breeding biology of albatrosses makes them unable to replenish their numbers at the rate they are being depleted. Doughty and Carmichael set the albatross's fate in the larger context of threats facing the ocean commons, ranging from industrial overfishing to our habit of dumping chemicals, solid waste, and plastic trash into the open seas. They also highlight the efforts of dedicated individuals, environmental groups, fishery management bodies, and governments who are working for seabird and fish conservation and demonstrate that these efforts can lead to sustainable solutions for the iconic seabirds and the entire ocean ecosystem.

Contents

Foreword by H.R.H. Prince of Wales
Acknowledgments
Introduction by John Croxall Milestones: An Albatross Chronology

Chapter 1. Storytelling

Part I: The Albatross
Chapter 2. Plunder
Chapter 3. Science
Chapter 4. Connections
Chapter 5. Home
Chapter 6. Family

Part II: Crossings
Chapter 7. Migration
Chapter 8. Globalization
Chapter 9. Commons

Part III: Birds and Fish
Chapter 10. Fish
Chapter 11. Management
Chapter 12. Crisis
Chapter 13. Bycatch

Part IV: Sea Change
Chapter 14. Links
Chapter 15. Engineering
Chapter 16. Turning Point

Part V: Agents of Change
Chapter 17. Fishers
Chapter 18. Governments
Chapter 19. Nongovernmentals
Chapter 20. Trade
Chapter 21. Celebrities
Chapter 22. Capstone

Conclusion. Hope
Appendix: CCAMLR and Seabird Mortality
Notes
Bibliography
Index

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