"They can't swallow them, so the chicks slowly starve to death with 20 butterfish surrounding them," says Ms Welch.Other migratory seabirds, such as Atlantic puffins and razorbills, face similar problems.
Over two weeks they drifted east almost 400 miles, landing on Torishima, a barren volcanic speck whose only sustenance was brackish water lying in puddles and nesting seabirds.
The malign effect of floating plastic debris on seabirds, turtles and other sea creatures is well known.
The striking drop in numbers round British coasts of such seabirds as arctic terns, kittiwakes, guillemots and puffins is probably a result of the disappearance of sand eels.
By January 24th, only 12 sea lions, six turtles and some 50 seabirds (pelicans and blue-footed boobies) had been injured; four pelicans died.
Unfortunately, trawler fishing is harder to make bird-friendly than fishing with lines.On land, seabirds could be helped by ridding their habitats of invasive species.
Many important bird areas (IBAs) for seabirds are already mapped on land, and an inventory of marine IBAs is on the way.
It is a vital home for seabirds, including burrowing petrels and albatrosses as well as two endangered bird species found nowhere else.
What UNESCO calls "the world's most complex expanse of coral reefs" is home to 400 types of coral, 1,500 fish species, whales, dolphins, seabirds and turtles.
In addition, several tens of thousands of seabirds are reckoned to be killed every year by an entangling mass of flotsam fishing gear, grocery bags and the like.
He cited worries about the trawler's potential to ensnare dolphins, seals, seabirds and threatened fish species.
