These black-footed albatross are certainly an endangered species, but not because of the sharks. Thousands of adult black-footed albatross are caught each year on fishing lines. In fact, 19 of the world's 22 species of albatross are endangered or vulnerable to extinction, largely thanks to fishing.
The Antipodean, or wandering albatross is found in the waters around New Zealand, home to the most diverse sea bird community in the world. These are rich fishing grounds for fishermen too. The birds know that where there are fishermen, a free lunch is sure to follow. So how does this get them into trouble? With a wingspan over three meters, an albatross is built to soar thousands of miles across the ocean in its quest for food.
As it might go for days with nothing, it can't afford to be choosy. Anything near the surface is snapped up. Unfortunately, not everything a fisherman casts overboard is a healthy meal. Far out at sea, a long-line fishing vessel is setting its line. It's long-line vessels in particular that have been held responsible for the decline of the albatross.
The fishermen pay out a line 30 miles long across the surface of the ocean, and every few meters, they attach a secondary line with a hook, baited with a fish or squid. Every night, this vessel casts over 1,000 hooks, and it is just one of many long-liners plying the Pacific, some with lines 100 miles long. But this fisherman is well aware of the threat to the sea birds, and to prevent them from swallowing his hooks, he has adopted bird-friendly fishing methods. It's why he sets his lines at night, when the albatross are sleeping. And he deploys "tori lines".
These simple streamers are remarkably effective at scaring birds away from the hooks. He also thaws out his bait before hooking it, so it sinks out of sight quickly. His bird catch is now virtually zero.
This leaves more hooks free for his target species - bigeye tuna. These are powerful fish, and can weigh well over 100 kilos. It may look brutal, but the most humane way to kill one quickly is to shoot it. The future of the albatross still hangs in the balance. The birds around New Zealand are benefiting from a law that states all long-line fishing vessels must use bird-friendly methods. But albatross are great travelers, so they're still at risk throughout the rest of the South Pacific.
Only if all fishing vessels adopt the same bird-friendly techniques will the story of the albatross - like that of the whale - have a happy ending. Saving sharks is not so straight forward. They're not just caught accidentally - their fins are worth a fortune, thanks to an Oriental taste for shark-fin soup.