Bird race aims to save albatross
SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Australia's annual Big Bird Race sets off Monday with 20 albatrosses taking flight from three Tasmanian islands and heading to South Africa.
The race, sponsored by celebrities including Australian singer Olivia Newton John, television host Michael Parkinson and naturalist Sir David Attenborough, aims to highlight the plight of the birds who die every year due to long-line fishing practices.
The birds are electronically tagged with satellite transmitters so scientists and punters who bet on the race can track the birds on their flight.
It is the second year the race has been run. Last year just one of the tagged birds -- named Aphroditie and sponsored by model Jerry Hall -- made it to African territorial waters.
This year's race will finish in August, with profits going to future seabird conservation projects.
It is estimated that 300,000 seabirds die each year from long-line fishing practices with many albatross species facing the threat of extinction because of the practice, according to the Conservation Foundation of Tasmania.
Long-line fishing techniques use baited lines dragged up to 130 kilometers (80 miles) behind boats, drowning the birds by dragging them deep under the water.
