Save the albatross campaign
Sailors believe that the soul of a drowned sailor comes back in the form of an albatross. In the wildest oceans of the world, where no ships venture, often the only company the sailors have, as they push their boats to the extreme, is an albatross gliding in their wake.The Save the Albatross Campaign was developed in partnership with the Volvo Ocean Race and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), at a time when 19 of 22 species of albatross were under threat of extinction by long line fishing vessels.
A communications campaign developed simple messaging to make this complex issue more widely understood. Albatross Task Force Members were portrayed as intrepid heroes, battling against the odds to save albatrosses far out at sea – in another version of life, and work, at the extreme.
Over 10 years of partnership, the Volvo Ocean Race helped to bring coverage of the the threat to albatrosses to a worldwide audience. HRH Prince Charles, Sir David Attenborough, Dame Ellen MacArthur and Simon Cowell all lent prominent support to the campaign, creating worldwide media interest.
The Save the Albatross Campaign is international in its nature and scope and operates through an alliance of BirdLife partners based around the world. The headquarters for the campaign is based at the RSPB, the UK BirdLife Partner.
Ten years on, the threat of extinction has been reduced to 15 out of 22 species, largely through the work of the 17 members of the Albatross Task Force, who work with fishing fleets in eight countries across South America and South Africa, Korea, Japan and China.
The scale of public awareness, support and campaigning has helped bring about new fisheries legislations to combat the needless slaughter of these magnificent birds.