The graceful sweep of an albatross as it glides above mountainous waves has amazed generations of sailors and naturalists. The awe-inspiring sight has, however, become increasingly rare as long-line fishing has put species under threat of extinction.

As publicised recently by The Times the joint venture by the RSPB and Birdlife International the Albatross Task Force, looks at working with fishermen on shore and at sea, to educate them in techniques that can rapidly reduce albatross deaths such as:

• using bird scaring devices to scare birds away from baited lines
• weighting lines to make baited hooks sink more quickly 
• using thawed, not frozen bait (as it sinks more quickly) 
• dying bait blue, making it harder for birds to see in the water 
• setting lines only at night, because most albatrosses feed by day
• using special tubes to release the fishing lines deep under water 

The scheme has reduced deaths by between 67% to 85%. In order to help raise funds the RSPB are having a stamp collection. As part of our giving back initiative 8build personnel managed to collect and send over 500 stamps for the appeal.

If you want to know more about the campaign visit www.rspb.org.uk/supporting/campaigns/albatross/index.asp