In fact is more like "albatrosses counted manually one to one on a satellite image from some desktop on planet earth, that is a little less glamurous.

But is very interesting in any case.

The technique presented in the article is very interesting, and it show's promise for accurately surveying and conserving many species.

However I'm skeptical of this quote.

"Commercial fishing has depleted the stocks on which these seabirds also feed, and the baited longline gear used by some vessels has an unpleasant knack for attracting foragers and pulling them underwater where they drown."

From my several seasons of experience long-lining black cod off the California coast, I suspect that albatross are a species which directly benefit from commercial fishing (population wise). Black-footed albatross follow boats around scavenging the deep water bycatch, these fish would otherwise be physically inaccessible to them. These deep water fish are in a distinct ecosystem, and only have indirect interaction via the transitive nature of the food web.

Anecdotally, I've never seen one get caught in gear. So I strongly suspect physical danger from long-line gear has an insignificant impact on their overall population. Since the birds are very common, and attracted to the boats/bycatch, there would seem to be plenty of opportunity for the gear to harm the birds. They appear intelligent enough to actively avoid the gear, maintaining a close but safe proximity.

Now this isn't to say that there aren't any anthropogenic impacts on their population. However, any impacts likely stem from other more diffuse human activity (climate change). Also I can only speak for species endemic to Californian/Alaskan water's, though I believe their behavior is probably pretty universal.

To hear someone talk about albatrosses from his local perspective is amazing.

That said you are using anecdotal observations from an area which is located more than 10 000 km from the habitat of these Albatrosses. There is a recorded history of deplating fish stocks around the world and how it effects fauna, so I would say the statement in the article has a lot more to it than your comment.

That said I know too little about albatrosses and fishing in the California current, so for me your view on your local area is interesting, and I really hope it's true because meeting albatrosses on the open sea is on my bucket list.

Reminds me of counting ships via satellite imagery: https://www.planet.com/pulse/experimenting-with-the-deep-dat...

Wow...extraordinary the detail they can resolve to. Probably we'll all be tracked in real time by AI bots analyzing real time satellite video feeds soon...

A UAV launched from a nearby ship would have provided much better imagery.

I love your in depth analysis, thank you.