Notes

1 No creature knows the sea quite like the albatross, which is the largest of any bird alive today. These animals, native to the Southern Ocean and North Pacific, can reach great heights. They can move at speeds that often exceed 50 miles per hour. They cover vast parts of the sea in minutes and search the water for fish. Some species are known to spend years at sea without touching down on land, and a few have even been recorded to fly all the way around the globe. Henri Weimerskirch, a marine ornithologist at the French National Center for Scientific Research, has been working on using these seabirds to patrol the ocean for illegal fishing ships. He and his colleagues have equipped nearly 200 albatrosses with tiny GPS trackers that detect radar emissions from suspicious ships. This allows the birds to transmit the locations of fishers in the middle of illegal acts. Albatrosses are capable of following fishing boats into remote regions out of reach of monitoring machines such as ships, aircraft and even certain satellites. These animals may even help gather crucial conservation data along the way.

2 In many parts of the world, catching fish has become a problematic business. Though estimates vary, around a fifth of the fish on the market may be the result of illegal, unreported or unregulated catches at sea. Fishers who catch fish without a license, exceed quotas or underreport their activities pose a threat to ecosystems, and their activities have been linked to other crimes. Illegal fishing is thought to cost the global economy up to $20 billion or $30 billion every year. “However, patrolling the ocean, which covers more than 70 percent of our planet, is no easy task. There seems to be a lack of resources and infrastructure,” says Amanda Gladics, a fisheries expert at Oregon State University. “Out here, close observation often relies on something of an honor system. With this system, ships voluntarily report their presence through an automatic identification system (AIS) that can easily be turned off. If a boat stops its AIS, nobody knows where the boat is,” Weimerskirch says.

3 To test the birds’ guarding potential, the researchers entered the nesting grounds of albatrosses. After they selected 169 individuals of different ages, the team placed trackers on the birds’ backs. Each of these trackers weighs just two ounces (about 60 grams), and after the team attached them, they set the animals free. Over a period of six months, the team’s army of albatrosses observed over 20 million square miles of sea. When the birds came within three or so miles of a boat, their trackers recorded its exact location. Then, they sent the information out with the help of satellites to an online database that officials could access and check with AIS data. There were 353 fishing ships that were detected, and the AIS of 28% were turned off. This was a finding that caught Weimerskirch totally off-guard. “No one thought it would be so high,” he says.

4 Compared to expensive, high-tech methods such as plane patrols or satellite surveys, the equipped birds seem an economical choice, Weimerskirch says. However, he accepts the possibility that the team’s technique may come with other costs to the albatrosses themselves. Among the 22 species of albatross species that fly over the world’s waters, eight are endangered or critically endangered. Some of the most concerning threats to their existence are the fishing boats they chase since these boats can kill them. Weimerskirch feels that at least a couple of the albatrosses the team used fell prey to such ships. In extreme cases, some fishers might even try to harm radar-tracking albatrosses to keep their boats’ location a secret. “Careful attention has to be paid to this,” Gladics says.

5 Weimerskirch, who has spent years focusing on the birds’ behaviour, points out that most albatrosses watch ships from hundreds or thousands of feet away, which is a distance that makes the trackers essentially impossible to spot. The devices used in the team’s experiment do not change the birds’ natural routes. In addition, they can easily be removed by researchers, or they naturally fall off after some time. Still, there might be questions in some minds related to the harm that could be caused to these birds due to the experiments.

6 In regularly logging their location, the albatrosses are “participating in their own conservation,” Melinda Conners, a conservation biologist studying albatrosses at Stony Brook University, says. To expand their coverage over oceans where albatrosses do not normally go, the team plans to focus on other large species as well. (a) Simply knowing where these birds go on their long journeys draws the attention of many people. (b) Perhaps all the world’s waters will someday be monitored by these birds. (c) For now, these early findings show that “there exists a very powerful tool to help identify illegal fishing in some of the most remote places on Earth,” Conners says. “That is a huge win for conservation on the high seas.”

1. According to para. 1, Henri Weimerskirch ____.

Select one:
a. is interested in using albatrosses for the protection of the environment
b. has provided many ships with tiny GPS trackers that detect radar emissions Incorrect
c. formed a team in order to collaborate with fishers in remote regions
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The correct answer is: is interested in using albatrosses for the protection of the environment
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2. It can be understood that the honor system mentioned in para. 2 ____.

Select one:
a. allows ships to operate without being monitored
b. has solved the problem of unregulated fishing Incorrect
c. is caused by a lack of resources and organization
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The correct answer is: allows ships to operate without being monitored
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3. How does the information in para. 3 relate to the information in para. 4?

Select one:
a. Para. 3 explains an experiment, and para. 4 presents problems it brought about. Correct
b. Para. 3 describes the advantages a species provides, and para. 4 shows its disadvantages.
c. Para. 3 mentions the consequences of a study, and para. 4 lists the ways to overcome them.
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The correct answer is: Para. 3 explains an experiment, and para. 4 presents problems it brought about.
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4. What is the function of para. 5?

Select one:
a. It points out that using albatrosses as patrols does not cause them harm. Correct
b. It emphasizes the importance of considering the harm caused to albatrosses.
c. It shows the impossibility of detecting albatrosses with trackers.
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The correct answer is: It points out that using albatrosses as patrols does not cause them harm.
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5. Which underlined sentence does not fit in para. 6?

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a. c
b. b Incorrect
c. a
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The correct answer is: a
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6. Which of the following could be the best title for the text?

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a. Albatrosses and AIS
b. Using Albatrosses to Detect Illegal Fishing Correct
c. Advantages of Albatrosses for the Environment
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The correct answer is: Using Albatrosses to Detect Illegal Fishing