06 November, 2006
PRINCE OF WALES MAKES PLEA TO SAVE THE ALBATROSS
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Wandering Albatross |
TVE & RSPB JOINT PRESS RELEASE
In an exclusive interview for TVE’s Earth Report series, HRH The Prince of Wales makes a passionate call for a worldwide effort to save the world’s endangered albatrosses from extinction.
Later today (Tuesday 7 November 2006) The Prince of Wales will host a reception at Clarence House, in conjunction with The Friends of TVE and the RSPB, to launch the film, Race to the Save the Albatross. Speaking in the film, scheduled for global broadcast on BBC World from November 11-13, The Prince warns that humanity needs to take urgent action to avoid bringing about the extinction of the albatross. “I feel it should be our duty to ensure that we don’t lose any species if we possibly can help it.” “Think of the way in which we treat our world, and the way we treat our oceans, and the way we exploit the fish stocks in particular…It would be such an appalling commentary on the way we treat the world.”
The Prince calls on food retailers to act responsibly: “A lot is dependent on the retailers and big stores – they also can make a huge difference by deciding that they are going to obtain their fish only from certified stocks.”
Albatrosses are being killed at an estimated rate of 100,000 birds per annum. These deaths are unintentionally caused by long-line fishing boats which scour the Southern Ocean for highly prized species like tuna, toothfish and swordfish. They fish with lines up to 120 kilometres long, with thousands of baited hooks attached. BirdLife International estimates that one bird drowns on a longline hook every five minutes.
One of the major problems they face, the film shows, is the number of pirate ships fishing the Southern Ocean under flags of convenience - the illegal, unregulated and unreported vessels thought to be responsible for at least a quarter of all the albatrosses killed annually.
The BirdLife International Task Force is working with fishermen aboard vessels to promote simple, low cost ways to cut the number of albatrosses killed by long-line fishing boats, including setting lines at night, weighting them so they sink quickly, and using streamer lines to scare the birds away. In his commentary, The Prince highlights the efforts being made by these conservationists. “One of the things that I think is very impressive is the work being done by the Albatross Task Force,” he says.
“These mitigation measures have been shown to reduce the damage to albatrosses to almost zero… the challenge is to get the message across that these mitigation measures should be used at all times in all these fishing areas.”
Dr. Ben Sullivan of BirdLife International said, “The international legislation we are building to save the albatross will only work if it filters down to effective action on the fishing deck, and this film is a huge boost to spreading that grassroots awareness. We already have five Albatross Task Force experts, funded by the RSPB, making a real difference in South Africa and Brazil, and we will shortly be up and running in Chile too.”
Produced in collaboration with the RSPB, Race to the Save the Albatross is the fourth programme in TVE’s new series of Earth Report – the longest running environment series on global television. First broadcast on BBC World, Earth Report programmes reach 150 million viewers in more than 140 countries, before going into national and local distribution networks for broadcast and educational use.
“We are very grateful to His Royal Highness for his generosity in hosting our joint event with the Friends of TVE and the RSPB,” says TVE Executive Director Cheryl Campbell. “And we are delighted to have been working with the RSPB to help draw global attention to the plight of albatrosses worldwide.” Commenting on the latest news from the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), Graham Wynne, the RSPB’s chief executive, said: “We have just received incontrovertible proof of the value of mitigation measures for protecting albatrosses. CCAMLR, the body responsible for managing the fisheries around Antarctica, has reported that no albatross has been killed in this year’s regulated long-line fishery; a remarkable achievement given that ten years ago several thousand were killed. If other regions incorporated these measures today, the slaughter would stop tomorrow.”
“What struck me so forcefully as we were making this film,” says Christopher Jeans, Earth Report Series Editor, “is the senseless destruction of these birds. There are incredibly simple, cheap devices that can stop it – so why a long-line captain would prefer a bird rather than a fish on his hook is nothing short of madness.”
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CONTACTS For more information on Earth Report and the Race to Save the Albatross programme, please contact - Nick Rance, tel +44 (0)20 7901 8837; email nick.rance@tve.org.uk
For further information on the RSPB campaign and to arrange an interview, please contact - Grahame Madge, RSPB press officer, +44 (0)1767 681577. Out of hours, please telephone: +44 (0)7702 196902 (mobile)
To order copies of, or footage from, Race to Save the Albatross, please contact - Dina Junkermann, TVE Distribution Manager; tel +44 (0)20 7901 8834; email dina.junkermann@tve.org.uk
Photographs: Photographs are available free of charge from RSPB Images in digital format. To place an order please email RSPB Images on: rspb@thatsgood.biz Please note these pictures are only to be used in conjunction with the Race to Save the Albatros’ story.
Sound clips and broadcast-quality radio interviews: To arrange an ISDN interview with an RSPB spokesman please contact Grahame Madge at the RSPB press office. Sound clips of Race to Save the Albatross are also available, via the RSPB’s ISDN line, from Grahame Madge at the RSPB press office.
Broadcast-quality footage: Broadcast-quality footage of albatross and longline fishing is available from Grahame Madge at the RSPB press office. Broadcast-quality Beta footage of the documentary is available on request from Dina Junkermann at TVE (see above). Please note this footage is only to be used in conjunction with the Race to Save the Albatrossstory.
Editor’s notes: i) The RSPB is the UK partner of BirdLife International, which runs the Save the Albatross Campaign.
ii) BBC World also broadcasts Earth Report series in Japanese, and TVE and its 44 Partners in Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America & the Caribbean also distribute Earth Report programmes for broadcast and educational and campaigning use throughout the developing world. The Race to the Save the Albatross film will also be distributed through the BirdLife International partnership worldwide as part of the global campaign to save the albatross.
iii) Race to Save the Albatross will be broadcast on BBC World on Saturday 11 November at 21.30; Sunday 12 November at 11.30 and Monday 13 November at 02.30 (Not Asia Pacific or South Asia). (All TX times GMT.)
tve is a collective name for Television for the Environment and Television Trust for the Environment. Television for the Environment is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales (registered office 21 Elizabeth Street, London SW1W 9RP, company number 1811236)and a registered charity (charity number 326585). Television Trust for the Environment is a registered charity (charity number 326539).