Long flight to photo award for Albatross

Like many fishers, Cameron Long is a man of few words.

But he was persuaded to make an acceptance speech as he collected the winning prize at the Southern Seabird Solutions competition.

"I wasn't going to say anything, being a fisherman." the New Zealand fisher acknowledged wryly.

Click to enlarge
(© Cameron Long, Southern Seabird Solutions Trust Competition)
Luckily, his photos speak for him. His stunning winning shot of a solitary Salvin's albatross (Thalassarche salvini), navigating its flight a few well-judged inches from the ocean's surface, tip of one wing breaking the water, expresses the perfection of the albatross in a way words fail to.

This winning shot is one of thousands that Cameron Long has taken whilst at sea. Cam is one of the many fishers who marvel at the seabirds they share the seas with. "You're in a desert," he explains. "At sea, it's a wet desert. There's you, the boat, and the seabirds. And they're amazing. Most people can't appreciate their size. When you see one of the big mollymawks sitting on the water, and it looks pretty big, but then an albatross will fly next to it, and it's just a different scale."

The photography competition is part of Southern Seabird Solutions work to promote fishing practices that avoid seabirds like the albatross in Cam's shot from dying in fishing gear.

It is a unique partnership, bringing together conservationists from WWF, fishers, industry and government in one common cause - saving seabirds. Many seabirds die trying to feed around the fishing boats, so Southern Seabird Solutions was formed to tackle the problem.

"It's an absolute pleasure to take the photos of them, " says Cam about the seabirds. Having fished the Southern Ocean for 10 years - " I was in-shore fishing before that, but the money was unpredictable, " Cam says of his move to off-shore fishing - he says that over that time much has changed in making fishing practices better in New Zealand.

"You used to see a hell of a lot of birds in a feeding frenzy around boats, but now nothing goes over the side of the boat. We've got all the range of mitigation devices. No-one wants to see a dead seabird."

There is still work to be done – fishing remains the number one threat to seabirds. But, with New Zealand fishers, WWF, government and industry all united by the will to save these amazing seafarers, there is hope for their future.


Background notes

Southern Seabird Solutions was established to promote fishing practices that avoid seabird deaths in southern hemisphere fisheries. It is an alliance of New Zealand and international interest groups working together to solve the incidental capture of seabirds during longline and trawl fishing.

The organisation includes representatives from government departments, fishing industry, environmental groups, eco-tourism operators, fisheries trainers, indigenous fisheries interests and others.

A core premise of Southern Seabird Solutions is that fishermen hold the key to finding solutions to stopping seabird mortalities. Southern Seabird Solutions works with fishermen to pass on their knowledge, technology and skills to promote good practices in the longline and trawl fisheries.

The organisation’s scope extends beyond New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone because seabirds that breed in New Zealand territory are global travellers, roaming the oceans as far afield as southern Africa, Australia, Japan, and North and South America.

The Southern Seabird Solutions Trust is supported financially by the New Zealand government through the Department of Conservation, and the fishing industry through the New Zealand Seafood Industry Council and the Deepwater Group Ltd. The Trust is also supported by WWF-New Zealand. Funding for the Trust’s projects comes from a variety of sources, both within and outside New Zealand, and includes financial contributions from supporters, grants, sponsorship and services in kind.


Story by Jen Riches, Marketing & Communications Manager at WWF New Zealand