A quarter of the world’s seabird species breed in New Zealand – more than anywhere else on Earth.

They naturally flock around fishing vessels – which can be fatal – getting tangled in the nets or getting hit by trawl cables.

A new campaign wants to change that.

In a bid to prevent those deaths the Southern Seabirds Solution Trust has set up a campaign called Catch Fish not Birds – which includes giving bait buckets to recreational fishers printed with pictures and messaging to help fishers avoid catching birds and safely release birds if they are caught.