Marine debris and fishing gear associated with seabirds at Bird Island, South Georgia, 1994/95

This report describes and quantifies the occurrence of marine debris and fishing gear associated with seabirds in the same way as in 1993/1994. In 1994/1995 there was a decrease in both the number of plastic debris items and fishing hooks and lines found. Although this result is encouraging, the decrease is due at least in part to, first, fewer birds examined than last year as a consequence of the very low breeding numbers of mollymawks at Bird Island in 1994/1995 and, second, because the 1994/1995 commercial fishery around South Georgia did not start until March 1995, the end of the data recording year at Bird Island.