Seabird Conservation: Albatross Recovery and Threats

What are seabirds? Linking sea and land

Definition and lifestyle

Seabirds spend most of their lives at sea and feed on marine life. They include albatrosses, shearwaters, murres, auklets, boobies and black-tailed gulls, and several hundred species are known worldwide. Most come ashore only to breed, mainly on remote islands with few predators, and spend the rest of the year traveling thousands of kilometers over the open ocean.

Some albatrosses have wingspans over two meters and can glide for hours without flapping, which lets them find scattered food across vast seas. But they usually lay just one egg, and raising a chick can take nearly half a year, so their numbers grow very slowly.

How being long-lived and slow-breeding becomes a weakness

Many seabirds live long and take several years to nearly a decade to mature. Because they raise few young over a long breeding life, accidental deaths of adults hit the whole population hard. This is why bycatch and invasive species, described below, can be so damaging.

Carriers of nutrients between sea and land

Seabirds bring food from the sea to their islands and supply nitrogen and phosphorus to the land through droppings, regurgitated food and carcasses. Studies in many places report that plants grow well in breeding colonies and that insects and soil organisms are richer too. Seabirds are quiet links that let marine nutrients support land ecosystems.

Main groups of seabirds

It helps to sort seabirds into a few big groups. Albatrosses, shearwaters and storm-petrels belong to the order Procellariiformes; they live on the open ocean and are good at finding food by smell. Gulls and terns are often seen along coasts, including Japanese harbors. Murres and auklets swim underwater with their wings, chasing fish. Penguins are also seabirds in a broad sense, having developed diving ability instead of flight.

Japan stretches north to south and sits where the Kuroshio and Oyashio currents meet, so it hosts everything from northern murres to subtropical boobies. Many island breeding sites are designated as natural monuments or national parks and serve as the front line of conservation.

Seabirds around the world today

Assessments by BirdLife International and others indicate that seabirds are among the bird groups with the highest share at risk of extinction. Besides being long-lived and slow-breeding, they are affected by human activities at both breeding islands and ocean feeding grounds. Land birds can often be saved by protecting habitat, but seabirds cross borders, so international cooperation is essential. The international Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) was created for this reason.

The albatross story: from feather hunting to rediscovery and recovery

Overhunting since the Meiji era and the 'extinct' report

Japan's main albatross breeding site was Torishima in the Izu Islands. From the Meiji era on, birds were taken in huge numbers for the overseas feather trade, with losses estimated at millions. A volcanic eruption on Torishima in 1939 added to the decline, and in 1949 the species was reported as probably extinct.

Rediscovery in 1951 and Hiroshi Hasegawa's 42 years

In 1951, however, about 10 birds were rediscovered on Torishima, and Japan's conservation work began. From 1976, Hiroshi Hasegawa (later professor emeritus at Toho University) carried out surveys and conservation under the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology, continuing for 42 years until the 125th survey in November–December 2018.

Three phases: recovery, development and expansion

The conservation work is organized into three phases. The 'recovery phase' (1976–1991) improved slopes at the old breeding ground to stabilize nesting. The 'development phase' (1992–2007) created a new colony in a safer place and lured young birds to increase pairs. The 'expansion phase' (from 2008) spreads the species by moving chicks born on Torishima to the Ogasawara Islands and rearing them there.

How far has the population recovered?

The estimated population passed 3,000 in 2012 and has kept growing. In the 2024–25 breeding season about 1,300 chicks fledged on Torishima, and the estimated Torishima population is reported to exceed 9,500 birds. A bird once called extinct has returned to the thousands through long-term human effort, a success story watched worldwide.

Chick growth and parental care

Albatross chicks are fed by parents who regurgitate food gathered at sea. Parents travel for days, sometimes weeks, to distant waters and return to the nest in turns. Fledging takes about six months, and fledged young drift at sea for several years without returning to land. Only those that survive this long immature period join the breeding population, so recovery takes time.

Attraction with decoys and sound

To create new breeding sites, conservation teams set out albatross decoys and play calls to tell young birds that the site is safe. Birds tend to gather where others are, so this helps form colonies. The method is also used in seabird conservation worldwide.

Lessons from the history of overhunting

The sharp decline of the albatross shows the danger of using up a resource for short-term economic value. Millions of birds were lost for the temporary profit of feathers, and recovering the numbers has taken decades of steady effort. The lesson also applies to modern use of fish and forest resources.

New breeding site on Mukojima, Ogasawara: preparing for volcanic risk

Why Torishima alone is risky

Torishima is an active volcano, and an eruption could wipe out the colony. Having breeding concentrated in one place is a major risk for the species, so a plan was made to create a second breeding site on a safer island.

Moving and hand-rearing chicks

From 2008 to 2012, chicks born on Torishima were moved to Mukojima in the Ogasawara Islands and reared by hand. Because chicks strongly return to where they fledged, the aim was to make them remember the new island as home.

Natural breeding after eight years

In 2016, eight years after the transfers began, the first chick born naturally on Mukojima was confirmed. Recently three chicks fledged in each of two consecutive years, so the new site is slowly taking root. Numbers are still small, and it will take a long time to become a stable population.

What a new breeding site means

A new site like Mukojima acts as insurance against losing everything to an eruption on Torishima. Breeding on several islands also spreads the effects of disease and extreme weather, and more sites help maintain genetic diversity.

The Ogasawara Islands and seabirds

The Ogasawara Islands are a precious World Natural Heritage site where many seabirds breed alongside endemic plants and animals. Measures against invasive species and rules for visitors protect nature across the islands, and creating the albatross site is part of this environmental conservation.

A challenge: numbers are still small

Fledglings on Mukojima number only a few a year in recent records. This is small compared with the over 1,000 on Torishima, but the fact that natural breeding has been established is itself major progress. The next challenge is to increase breeding pairs and grow a stable population.

Swallowing marine plastic: 90% of seabirds have eaten it

What a global study found

A 2015 study by Wilcox and colleagues in PNAS shocked the world. It estimated that about 90% of seabirds alive today have swallowed plastic, and that plastic has been confirmed in about 60% of species. If current trends continue, it predicted that 99% of species will be affected by 2050.

Ingestion was under 5% of individuals in 1960 but reached about 80% in 2010, rising rapidly in step with plastic production.

Why do they mistake it for food?

Seabirds are said to be attracted not only by the look of plastic but by its smell. Plastic floating at sea gets covered with algae, and the sulfur compound dimethyl sulfide it gives off may act as a cue that food is nearby. High ingestion rates have been reported especially in shearwater-type birds that find food by smell.

What happens inside the body

Swallowed plastic is not digested. It stays in the stomach, creating a false feeling of fullness and reducing food intake. It can injure or block the stomach and intestines, and parents pass it on to chicks by regurgitation. Over the long term, chemicals from plastic and poorer nutrition are concerns. For details, see our article on seabird plastic ingestion.

Around Japan

The seas around Japan are known for high concentrations of microplastics, and Japan is among the countries with a large amount of debris washing ashore. Reducing single-use plastic and collecting waste from rivers and coasts also protects seabirds. For how plastic breaks down at sea, see plastic degradation in the ocean.

Microplastics and chemicals

Plastic in the sea is broken up by ultraviolet light and waves into microplastics under 5 mm. The smaller it gets, the more it is taken in by fish and zooplankton as well as seabirds, and it may accumulate in top predators through the food web. Plastic also readily adsorbs organic pollutants, and research is examining whether these are released inside animals that eat it.

Surveys at breeding sites

At breeding sites around the world, researchers examine regurgitated food and stomach contents of dead birds and record the amount and type of plastic. The results are shared internationally as a clue to the state of marine debris. Some seabird species are even used officially as indicators of marine litter in certain countries and regions.

Directions for solutions

The fundamental solution is to reduce the amount of plastic entering the sea. International talks on a plastic pollution treaty are under way, and Japan has introduced measures such as charging for plastic bags and the Plastic Resource Circulation Act. Both individual action and policy are needed to keep cutting leakage.

Bycatch: the difficulty of coexisting with fisheries

What is bycatch?

Bycatch means catching unintended animals in fishing gear. For seabirds, a typical case is in longline fishing, where birds go for baited hooks, get hooked, and are dragged under and drowned. It also happens in gillnet and trawl fisheries.

Numbers on the impact of bycatch

Of the 22 albatross species, 17 are listed in threatened categories (Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered) on the IUCN Red List, and accidental death in fisheries is regarded as the most widespread cause of decline. Estimates suggest that high-seas longline fishing alone kills tens of thousands of seabirds each year.

Japan's fisheries and measures

Japanese distant-water tuna longliners have introduced bycatch mitigation such as tori lines at the request of international fisheries management bodies. Many measures are low-cost and effective, and cooperation from fishers and spreading the techniques are key. For sustainable fisheries, see also overfishing and stock collapse and food use of bycatch fish.

Frameworks for international cooperation

Seabird bycatch crosses borders, so international frameworks address it. The Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) and regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) ask members to adopt mitigation measures. Japan is involved in these measures through tuna fisheries management bodies and others.

Advances in technology

Attaching small transmitters to seabirds shows which waters overlap with fishing vessels. This helps identify high-risk areas and seasons so measures can be focused there. Trials of recording bycatch with onboard cameras and analyzing it with AI have also begun.

Protecting together with fishers

Bycatch measures will not last if they only burden fishers. Sinking hooks quickly can reduce lost bait and even improve catch efficiency in some cases. Fishers and researchers working together to find practical methods leads to coexistence of conservation and fishing.

Invasive species at breeding sites: rats, cats and goats on islands

Ground-nesting birds are defenseless

Many seabirds evolved to nest on the ground or in burrows on islands without predators. They therefore have almost no defense against introduced mammals such as rats, cats, pigs and goats. Eggs and chicks are eaten, and goats can strip vegetation and destroy burrows.

Rats as a cause of extinction

Island studies show that rats are among the biggest causes of seabird extinction and endangerment, with estimates that rats were involved in about 60% of seabird extinctions. The black rat, brown rat and Pacific rat are considered the most damaging invasive rats.

Examples of removal and recovery

Eradication projects removing rats and cats from islands have been carried out around the world, and many cases have reported seabird breeding recovering afterward. Japan is also working on invasive mammal control on remote islands. For the bigger picture, see invasive marine species.

Cats, goats and other invasive species

Besides rats, feral cats are known to have caused great damage to seabirds on remote islands. Control of feral cats is under way on the Ogasawara Islands, Amami-Oshima and elsewhere. Goats strip vegetation and destabilize the ground, sometimes collapsing the burrows of storm-petrels and other birds.

The difficulty of eradication

Eradicating invasive species from an island needs thorough work over a wide area and is costly, but once it succeeds the effects last. Invasive mammals have been successfully eradicated from hundreds of islands worldwide, and seabird recovery has been confirmed in many places.

The idea of biosecurity

Eradication is pointless if animals invade again. Biosecurity, a system to keep rats and others from landing from ships and cargo, is therefore important. Basic measures such as checking baggage before traveling to an island and fitting rat guards to ships are effective.

The role of seabirds as indicators of the marine environment

Why they work as indicators

Seabirds sit high in the food chain, eating fish, squid and zooplankton. When the amount or distribution of prey changes, it shows quickly in breeding success and body condition. Counting nests and chicks at breeding sites lets us track the state of a wide sea continuously at relatively low cost.

Examples of monitoring

Long-term records of seabird breeding success are used worldwide as clues to rising sea temperatures, changes in prey from fishing, and marine pollution. Research also analyzes stomach contents and feathers to examine accumulation of plastic, heavy metals and organic pollutants.

Relation to climate change

Changes in sea temperature shift where prey fish live and affect seabird breeding. Sea-level rise and high waves also threaten to flood nesting sites on low islands. For ocean warming, see ocean warming and changing currents.

Japanese seabirds as indicators

On Japan's islands, black-tailed gulls, streaked shearwaters and rhinoceros auklets breed in large colonies. Watching their breeding over many years lets us infer changes in prey around them. In years when prey fish are scarce, chicks grow poorly or more parents abandon breeding.

The potential of citizen science

Seabird monitoring also relies on citizens, not only researchers. Counting dead seabirds washed ashore and sharing bird-watching records provide valuable data on long coastlines. Even posting an observation can sometimes help conservation.

30by30 and seabirds

Under the international goal to conserve 30% of land and sea by 2030 (30by30), seabird breeding and feeding areas are candidates for important conservation targets. The idea of including important sea areas in protected areas based on seabirds' ranges is spreading.

What we can do: five actions to protect seabirds

In daily life

1. Reduce single-use plastic and sort waste properly
2. Join clean-ups of beaches and riverbanks
3. Choose certified sustainable seafood
4. Follow rules and manners when watching seabirds and keep away from nesting sites
5. Take an interest in the work of seabird conservation groups and research institutes and share it

Manners when enjoying observation

Seabirds can be enjoyed easily from ferries, tour boats and coasts. At breeding sites, if a startled parent leaves its nest, eggs and chicks may be taken by predators or exposed to cold. Follow the rules and watch quietly from a distance.

Learning in schools and communities

Learning that combines beach clean-ups and seabird watching is a good chance for children to feel the connections of the sea. Counting and recording collected litter by type also becomes science learning about the local coast.

For the next generation

The albatross's return shows that conservation can bear fruit. That this success was supported by one researcher's 42 years of effort also teaches the value of persistence. For a future where the next generation lives with seabirds, what matters is that we learn, choose and act now.

Widening your learning

Albatross conservation began with one researcher's passion and recovered to the thousands with the support of government, research institutions and communities. Meanwhile, plastic, bycatch, invasive species and climate change still weigh heavily on seabirds worldwide. Even small individual actions matter when we, as people who share the sea, learn, choose and speak up.