Albatrosses have captured the human imagination since before Coleridge penned his famous lines, yet they have the ill-fated distinction of being the most threatened bird group in the world. For those who wonder why, there is no more comprehensive volume on this subject than The Albatross and the Fish. It chronicles the history of anthropogenic threats to albatrosses, the research that has helped us understand those threats, and the complex network of laws and policies that guide current conservation efforts.
The Albatross and the Fish tells the story of how albatross populations have become imperiled, first through direct exploitation, and then as the indirect consequence of fisheries bycatch and introductions of non-native species to nesting islands. Tens of thousands of albatrosses are killed annually in longline and trawl fisheries, a startling discovery which came to light as a result of long-term monitoring of albatross populations at breeding colonies, and...