Albatross bycatch reported

In December, an endangered short-tailed albatross was taken by a longline fishing vessel in the Gulf of Alaska south of Unalaska Island, the National Marine Fisheries Service reports.

Both legs of the bird were banded.

"The Yamashina Institute in Japan confirmed the bird was banded at the Hatsunezaki colony, Torishima Island, on March 3, 2023," NMFS reports.

A federal biological opinion allows for six takes during a two-year period, leaving an allowance for five additional takes for all federal Alaska groundfish fisheries over the next year, the agency says.

"The carcass is being shipped to the University of Alaska Fairbanks for additional analysis," NMFS says.