A Buller's albatross: Forest & Bird says the long line fishing industry needs better regulation to prevent the deaths of more threatened and critically endangered birds.

A commercial fisherman faces prosecution over the deaths of 38 albatrosses.

The Ministry for Primary Industries has also announced plans to prevent further vulnerable seabird deaths.

The ministry alleges a commercial fisherman fishing for southern bluefin tuna off the West Coast in April failed to use a tori line. A tori line is a mandatory device designed to scare birds away from baited hooks. Thirty-eight albatrosses died.

Yang Gan A royal albatross chick on the Otago Peninsula.

The skipper faces a maximum fine of $100,000 in relation to an offence under the Fisheries (Commercial Fishing) Regulations and forfeiture of the vessel used in the operation. A prosecution of this kind is rare – the last one was in early 2000s.

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The albatrosses were a mix of white capped mollymawk, Buller's albatross, Royal albatross and Gibson's wandering albatross. All are classified as either declining, naturally uncommon or nationally vulnerable.

MPI fisheries management acting director Steve Halley said the decision to prosecute sent a clear message that the rules needed to be followed.

"MPI works regularly with commercial fishers to reiterate the importance of bird mitigation and the need to comply with regulations designed to prevent seabird bycatch. Non-compliance is not acceptable. If there is sufficient evidence, prosecution action will be taken," he said.

The ministry was also putting in place further mitigation techniques including mandatory use of line-weighting for all vessels using surface longlines.

"Line-weighting is used successfully in other fisheries as part of best practice by reducing the availability of baited hooks during the setting of gear."

Halley said MPI would also put placement notices on the higher risk vessels in the southern bluefin tuna fleet. The notices mean vessels cannot go fishing without an MPI observer on board.

"We've been working with industry in this area for some time and will focus on ensuring continuous improvements are made. New Zealand has a significant role to play in safeguarding the many seabird species within our waters. The changes MPI plans to make reflect that responsibility."

Forest & Bird's sea bird advocate Karen Baird said she welcomed the prosecution but the long line fishing industry needed to be better regulated to prevent the deaths of many more threatened and critically endangered birds.

She said MPI also needed to rapidly deploy electronic monitoring throughout the fishing industry "to keep fishers honest".

She said the fisherman facing prosecution was allegedly caught by an on-board MPI observer.

The prosecution was also welcomed by conservation organisation, WWF New Zealand.

Head of campaigns Peter Hardstaff said thousands of albatrosses were killed each year as bycatch in fisheries in the waters around New Zealand.

"Fishing is the biggest threat to their survival," he said.

Nearly half of the world's 22 albatross species breed in New Zealand and many of those breed nowhere else. But many albatross species are in trouble – listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered according to the IUCN Red List.

The Antipodean albatross is critically endangered and is highly threatened by long line fishing and the population has been declining, in particular breeding females.

In sailors' lore, killing an albatross is considered unlucky, as referenced in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's well-known poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.