Anthropogenic feather soiling, marine debris and fishing gear associated with seabirds at Bird Island, South Georgia, 2000/01

This report describes and quantifies occurrences of oil, paint, marine debris and fishing gear associated with seabirds at Bird Island, South Georgia. In this, the eighth year of standardised recording, an unprecedented quantity of hooks (both with and without long-line attached)and monofilament long-line originating from fishing vessels were recorded in association with wandering albatrosses. Quantities of fishing gear remained within the levels of previous years for all other species. Marine debris, the vast majority of which was plastics, showed a 28% increase from the maximum of the previous year for grey-headed albatrosses, but a 24% decrease from the maximum of the previous year for wandering albatrosses. The recently noted trend of black-browed albatrosses regurgitating marine debris continued. Two female wandering albatrosses feather-soiled by red paint on the head and neck were observed. Human food waste was once again associated with wandering and black-browed albatrosses, and for the first time with grey-headed albatrosses. One Antarctic prion stomach, out of five dissected, contained a small piece of plastic, this being the first occasion that marine debris has been found in association with this species at South Georgia.