Accidental Catch

A fishing line with bait on the hook intended for tuna and other big fish is also a tasty snack for other animals such as this albatross, which drowned after being accidentally caught on a longline near Brazil. And it's a big problem. A 2003 study found that 300,000 birds are being killed each year by fisheries as bycatch, of which 100,000 are albatrosses. Fishermen are working with scientists to design new kinds of fishing lines that are less likely to catch albatrosses, or set their lines at night when the birds are less active.