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Tuesday, 13 December 2005 |
Yachtswoman Dame Ellen MacArthur to count albatrosses
Yachtswoman Dame Ellen MacArthur plans to switch from racing against
the clock to counting albatrosses during an eight-week break in South
Georgia.
Record breaker Dame Ellen MacArthur recently completed a 100-mile
crossing from Plymouth to Roscoff in northern France in just over six
hours and 20 minutes.
Dame Ellen MacArthur now hopes to raise awareness of the dangers of
long line fishing. The sea birds get caught on huge lines when trying
to take bait from hooks - resulting in 10,000 deaths annually.
Dame Ellen MacArthur, who will conduct a birdlife survey with
biologist Sally Poncet, said: "I was inspired not only by Sally's work
to raise awareness, but also by her knowledge of the incredible island
on which these studies are based - South Georgia." Research shows two
albatross species are critically endangered, seven are endangered and
10 species are listed as vulnerable.
29-year-old Dame Ellen MacArthur, who sailed non-stop solo around the
world earlier this year in 71 days, added: "This trip into the Southern
Ocean is something I have dreamed of since I first sailed there in
1999. It is a wonderful, wild unique place, so full of nature and
history.
"It is one of the few real isolated places on earth which are left.
"Though one of the closest Southern Ocean islands to civilisation, the
island of South Georgia has only two permanent inhabitants, no airport
and can only be reached by boat."
World-famous naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough
has also backed the campaign by BirdLife International based on
informing long line fishermen about the dangers in a bid to halt the
birds' deaths.
Dame Ellen MacArthur will fly out to the Falkland Islands before taking a boat to the isolated region close to the Antarctic.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 14 December 2005 )
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