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title: "“Seabird deaths plummet in fleet subject to conservation rules, but rise overall”"
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# “Seabird deaths plummet in fleet subject to conservation rules, but rise overall”

*![Seabird deaths plummet in nZ](https://www.acap.aq/images/Seabird_deaths_plummet_in_nZ.png)Seabird bycatch in surface longline fleet, March years, from the article*

 The use of ship-borne cameras coupled with best-practice mitigation measures has reduced seabird mortality in New Zealand’s surface longline fishery, as described in a recent news article.

 “The number of seabirds caught by the surface longline fleet has fallen to its lowest level in five years, just 18 months after new conservation requirements came into effect.  Across the whole sector, however, bycatch levels rose to their highest since at least 2019 in the year to March.

 In 2024, Fisheries New Zealand mandated that the surface longline fleet follow international best practice in either fitting hook-shielding devices to their lines to prevent seabirds from being accidentally hooked or adopting three alternative measures: weighted branch lines, setting lines at night and using tori (or bird-scaring) lines.”

 Read the whole article [here.](https://newsroom.co.nz/2026/08/10/seabird-deaths-plummet-in-fleet-subject-to-conservation-rules-but-rise-overall/)

 *John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 09 September 2026*