Ensuring seabirds experience positive welfare requires healthy ecosystems where they can swim, rest, play, find food, breed, rear offspring, and socialise.

SPCA opposes human activities that result in the injuries or deaths of seabirds. SPCA advocates for increased protection of seabird welfare and recovery of threatened species to non-threatened status through improved fishing practices.

Fishing-related mortality is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity for many seabirds. Seabird collision with nets and getting caught on surface longline hooks can lead to injuries that cause immediate or eventual death.

SPCA advocates that the government must take more practical action that aims for fisheries activities to result in zero mortality of seabirds. Reducing the risks to seabirds can be achieved by changing practices such as ending the use of bulk harvest fishing methods such as trawling or surface longlines in areas with a higher risk of seabird collisions with fishing vessels and gear or getting captured on hooks. We support the mandatory use of hook-shielding devices and line-waiting, improvements in the discharge of waste during hauling to align to minimise attracting birds, ensuring fishing gear cable devices such as tori lines and streamers are used to maximise effectiveness at deterring birds from collisions.

SPCA advocates for increased accountability of fisheries activities that impact seabirds, particularly around breeding populations.

Deaths caused as a direct or indirect result of entanglement with fishing nets or cables or collisions with fishing boats cause suffering to the individual animal and reliant offspring, and negatively impact the population. The death of seabird parents impacts dependent offspring who may experience starvation, dehydration, and thermal stress.