by
Warren B. King
International Council for Bird Preservation
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
R. G. B. Brown
Canadian Wildlife Service
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
and
Gerald A. Sanger[52]
U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service
Seattle, Washington
Abstract
Commercial fishing has been responsible for incidental mortality of seabirds for centuries, but with the advent of offshore salmon gill-net fishing in the North Pacific in 1952 and in the North Atlantic in 1965, the magnitude of this kill has increased, and there is strong indication that populations of some seabirds are being adversely affected. Murres (Uria spp.) are most frequently killed, although several other species are caught in lesser numbers. The seabird resources of several nations are involved in this mortality. Longline fishing and inshore gill-net fishing for salmon and cod also are responsible for mortality of seabirds, although usually not in significant numbers.