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With a wingspan of 3.5 metres, the Wandering Albatross is the world's biggest flying bird. A faithful follower of Southern Ocean vessels and truly the spirit of the high seas, it has been revered and respected by mariners throughout the ages, and is probably the species immortalised in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

The Wandering Albatross is listed as a 'Vulnerable' species by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) which means that it faces a high risk of extinction in the medium-term future. The total world breeding population numbers only 8,500 pairs annually, equivalent to around 28,000 mature individuals in this species where individuals breed only once every two years. Most breed in the South African region of the Southern Ocean, with the Marion Island and Prince Edward Island populations accounting for one-third of the global population. The survival of the Macquarie island population, which numbers less than 10 breeding pairs each year, is highly precarious (the population was plundered by sealers but recovered in ther 20th century, only to collapse again at the hands of fishing).

Wandering Albatrosses are highly aggressive scavengers behind fishing vessels, outcompeting other birds in the scramble for bait which makes longline fishing the greatest threat to their existence. The risk varies across the range but the best-researched population on Bird Island (South Georgia) has been in relentless decline since studies began over 30 years ago.

Over four-fifths of the Bird Island chicks have been found to ingest longline hooks and related fishing debris in the food given to them by their parents. Outside the breeding season, the risk is compounded by the enormous nomadic range of these birds throughout the Southern Ocean where they come into contact with both tuna and toothfish fisheries, legal and illegal.