The albatross - legendary protector of seafarers - is heading for extinction. Biologists have discovered that swordfish and tuna fishing fleets are eliminating more than 100,000 of these birds every year. In a couple of decades most species will be wiped out unless urgent action is taken.

This alarming conclusion, to be outlined this week at a major zoological conference in London, is based on a new generation of tracking units that have been monitoring the behaviour of these giant birds for the past few years.

The instruments have shown that albatrosses are capable of astonishing feats of endurance and navigation, and can fly round the world several times without stopping on land. During their lives, they fly the equivalent of 50 return trips to the moon: more than 10 million miles.

'However, our research has discovered that albatrosses are being killed at a horrific rate,' said Professor John Croxall, of the British Antarctic Survey. 'The trouble stems from long-line fishing in which boats tow huge, heavily baited lines. The albatrosses try to eat the bait and get dragged down and drowned.'

Albatrosses breed once every one or two years. While rearing youngsters, parents undergo journeys of thousands of miles to find food. However, these vast distances increase the albatrosses' chance of encountering a fishing fleet. Many get tangled in mile-long lines laced with bait. Most fleet owners deny causing anything but the occasional death. However, recent data makes clear that more than 100,000 albatrosses a year may die in lines.

'The problem is that albatrosses - no matter the species - breed relatively infrequently and only by the time they are 12 to 15 years old,' said Croxall. 'They used to live to around the age of 50, so that was not a great problem. But now they are being killed off before they can reach even half that age.'

Measures include weighting lines so they sink quickly and do not entice birds, setting lines at night, and setting off bird-scaring lines - made up of multi-coloured streamers to startle seabirds.

'All these measures are relatively simple to implement and cost only a few dollars,' Croxall said. 'However, we have to convince fleet managers that it is worth their while. We reckon they are losing about ￡10 million a year because albatrosses are getting caught on their lines, preventing fish from being caught.'

信天翁--传说中航海人的守护者--已经濒临灭绝了。生物学家发现，每年有10万多只信天翁被捕捉旗鱼或金枪鱼的渔船杀死。如果不采取紧急措施，几十年之后，大部分的信天翁种类都会灭绝。

在过去的几年中，科学家利用一种新型跟踪设备对信天翁的行为进行了监控，才得出了这一惊人的结论，并在本周于伦敦召开的一个动物学会议上将之公布。

这一跟踪仪器还表明，信天翁有极强的耐力和航海能力，能够绕地球飞行几圈而不着陆。它们一生的行程约有一千多万英里，相当于往返地球与月球之间50次。

英国南极勘查局教授约翰·克罗克索尔说："然而，我们的研究人员发现，信天翁正以惊人的速度被杀死，而凶手正是延绳钓捕鱼作业。信天翁总是被延绳钓的诱饵所吸引，从而被布满诱饵的绳子缠绕溺死。"

信天翁每一或二年繁殖一次，为了喂养孩子，他们跋涉数千英里去觅食。也正是这样的长途跋涉增加了信天翁碰上捕鱼船的几率。它们被布满诱饵的长长的鱼线缠住无法脱身。大部分渔船都否认这一严重后果，只承认偶尔会有信天翁死在鱼线上。然而，最新数据表明，每年有超过十万只信天翁丧生于此。

克罗克索尔说："问题在于不论何种信天翁，都只有满12至15岁后才会繁殖，次数也不多。他们通常的寿命有50年，但现在他们还没到繁殖年龄的一半就已经被杀死了。"

可以挽救信天翁的方法包括加重延绳钓线的重量，使它们可以迅速下沉而不会缠住鸟儿；在夜晚布钓线或在钓线上加上彩带惊吓鸟儿，使其不敢靠近等。

克罗克索尔说："所有的措施操作起来都相当简单，花费也很少。但我们必须让渔船经营者相信这么做是值得的。根据我们计算，如果信天翁被缠在他们的钓线上，他们每年会因为少捉鱼而损失约一千万英镑。"