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CELEBRITY OWNERS TEAM UP FOR RACE TO SAVE THE ALBATROSS Olivia Newton-John, Michael Parkinson, Dame Ellen Macarthur and Johnny Vegas own runners in Albatross race A host of celebrities from film, music, sport and media are joining together to highlight the plight of the albatross by owning runners in the Ladbrokes.com Big Bird Race 2005 – a world-first environmental project to highlight the plight of the albatross. The birds will officially took to the skies signalling the start of the race at an event on the evening of Thursday 28th April at Marco Pierre White’s Frankie's Italian Bar and Grill. Supported by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, and David Bellamy OBE the unique scientific research project developed in conjunction with the world’s leading bookmaker, Ladbrokes, highlights the unintentional but needless slaughter of tens of thousands of albatrosses each year from poorly executed, and often illegal, long-line fishing practices. The race is a unique combination of betting and science whereby punters can ‘back their bird’ on the www.ladbrokes.com/bigbirdrace and monitor their exact location 24 hours a day. The launch of the Big Bird race followed another albatross initiative – a special gala dinner on Wednesday 27th April, at which The Prince of Wales rallied support for Operation Ocean Task Force, a new RSPB initiative to appoint a team of experts to train fishermen on how best to prevent seabird deaths. They will work in hotspots around the world where albatrosses are most in danger. The Prince, who has long campaigned for actions to prevent the extinction of the albatross, has raised awareness of the issue around the world. In March The Prince visited the Royal Albatross Centre on the Otago Peninsula in New Zealand, the only mainland breeding colony of the birds in the world. The Big Bird Race is the initiative of conservationist Tim Nevard, who developed it in conjunction with Ladbrokes.com, the Conservation Foundation, Bird Life International and scientists from the Tasmanian state government. The project sees 17 non-breeding juvenile Tasmanian Shy Albatrosses (TSAs) tagged with satellite transmitters in order to follow their migration from three islands lying off the Australian state to South Africa. Scientists, ornithologists and punters will be able to follow the progress of all 17 ‘runners’ via satellite transmission on the Internet at www.ladbrokes.com/bigbirdrace, where they will also be able to place bets on the race. Any income generated from the bets will be donated to the BirdLife International ‘Save the Albatross Fund’. Each of the 17 runners are ‘owned’ and named by high profile celebrities, ranging from sporting legends Dame Ellen MacArthur, Frankie Dettori and Ronnie O’Sullivan and actress Olivia Newton-John to Marco Pierre White, and Johnny Vegas. From the media world, owners range from distinguished broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, to the king of chat, Michael Parkinson and popular Radio 2 DJ Johnny Walker. Throughout the next 20 weeks or so, celebrities will see their birds make the arduous trip across the southern oceans to South Africa with the winner receiving the Duke of Edinburgh’s Challenge Cup.
The world’s toughest endurance race
1. One of the world’s longest steeplechases / migrations 2. Major hurdles to overcome – First flight, Bass Strait (first sea crossing), Great Australian Bight (sharks), Roaring Forties (battling the storms), Southern Ocean (hypothermia risk) and taking the wrong course will all effect the outcome of the race before the rich fishing grounds off the coast of South Africa! 3. The birds will have ‘trainers’ (scientists) 4. The birds will depart from three different ‘stables’ (islands) Pedra Branca, Albatross Island and Mewstone – off the Tasmanian coast. 5. Each bird will have a ‘jockey’ (satellite tracking device) 6. Spectators will be able to follow the action from the Ladbrokes.com Grandstand’ and bet on the race, with all proceeds going to sea-bird conservation projects The Agreement for the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) requires the parties to take specific measures to reduce seabird by-catch from long-line fishing and improve the conservation status of the birds. The Ladbrokes.com Big Bird Race calls for all relevant long-lining countries to sign and ratify the agreement. At the start of last year’s race only 6 countries had ratified the agreement (Australia, NZ, Ecuador, Spain, South Africa and UK). However, the success of the Big Bird race in 2004 encouraged other countries to support the plight of the albatross with an additional 5 countries signing up to ACAP to include Argentina, Brazil, Chile, France and Peru. Commenting on the race, Prof. David Bellamy said: ‘I’m very pleased that so many people have come on board as owners to support the Big Bird Race again this year. We hope all the runners complete the course safely, but the truth is they face a gruesome death from badly executed long-line fishing practices. We hope to use the race to encourage other countries in South America and Asia to sign up to ACAP – this would be a major step to saving the needless slaughter of hundreds of thousands of these beautiful and iconic birds.’ John O’Reilly, Ladbrokes.com Managing Director, added: ‘The idea of highlighting an important environmental issue through a unique betting event was a compelling proposition for Ladbrokes and drove us to help make the concept of the Big Bird Race a reality. The Ladbrokes.com Big Bird Race has already helped to raise awareness of seabird conservation, and the need to end poor long-line fishing practices and we hope this year’s race will continue the progress made to date.’ Tim Nevard, The instigator and Project Director of the Ladbrokes.com Big Bird Race said: ‘The Ladbrokes.com Big Bird Race will provide expert researchers in the area of albatross conservation with a wonderful opportunity to make discoveries of real conservation importance. Ladbrokes.com have helped make the Big Bird Race a reality through technology and innovation that gives us the opportunity to make a real difference to global conservation.’ Dr Rosemary Gales, Senior Marine Biologist, Tasmanian Nature Conservation Branch (DPWIE), also commented: ‘The Ladbrokes.com Big Bird Race is a vital research tool for us. This unique project will enable us to determine the exact flight paths of the Tasmanian Shy Albatrosses making us better equipped to protect their uncertain futures.’
The consequences of long-line fishing
Unless measures are taken, such as weighting the line, flying bird-scaring lines and setting hooks at night, albatrosses can easily scavenge baited hooks and become caught, leading to a slow and painful death by drowning. Around 80% of killings can be prevented by implementing an accepted set of mitigation measures. Between a third and a half of all the birds killed as by-catch from longlining result from illegal, pirate fishing boats. The problem could be drastically reduced if governments take the necessary steps to ensure these boats are not allowed to operate and longline fishing practices are executed in a more environmentally friendly manner, saving the lives of the birds and increasing the fishermen’s yield.
The research project
The TSAs are the only species to breed in Australia outside the sub-Antarctic region and therefore have unique proximity and accessibility for researchers. However, the dangers TSAs face in their migration path is indicative of albatrosses as a whole and will also provide an indication of what is happing to other seabirds. By identifying where the birds fly and where the biggest threat from long-lining is, pressure can be applied to reduce hazards in those areas. Ladbrokes.com were key partners in making the Big Bird Race a reality, through funding, technological support, and through the media impact of combining betting with a key environmental issue.
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