Antipodean albatrosses are in steep decline and have been for decades.
We’ve already lost two-thirds of the population.
And what makes it worse is that most of the birds dying are female. There are now three male albatrosses for every female.
The biggest threat they face is from commercial fishing, and each bycatch death puts this wide-ranging and slow-breeding species at risk of extinction.
We need to do more to protect them.
‘Operation Million Dollar Mouse’, the heroic and successful effort over a decade ago to eradicate thousands of mice from Antipodes Island, the subantarctic island where they nest, has made their home a safe haven.
Two years ago, stronger rules to prevent seabirds being caught as bycatch in longline fishing lines were finally implemented, after years of advocacy – on top of a decades-long campaign to get cameras installed on fishing vessels.
But there is still much to do to save this beloved species from disappearing. And we need your help.
Please make a donation to help save the toroa.
Understanding why Antipodean Albatross numbers are falling, and how to stop it, requires a better understanding of the birds' behaviour.
Groundbreaking research we are supporting using advanced fine-scale GPS tracking will give us crucial insights into what is needed to protect these magnificent birds.
But more research on Antipodean albatrosses and other seabirds is desperately needed.
Your donation will help support more vital scientific research.
While Antipodean albatrosses only breed in New Zealand, they forage across the South Pacific from Australia to as far as Chile.
That means that many of the fishing vessels they encounter, and much of the danger of being killed, is outside of New Zealand.
The toroa might be ours but saving them from extinction needs to be an international effort.
Your donation will help us use the research findings to keep working with fishers and fishing companies in New Zealand and beyond to make their operations safer for the Antipodean albatross and other seabirds.