Burling And Tuke Talk Ocean Conservation With HRH The Duchess Of Cambridge
Peter Burling and Blair Tuke met the Duchess of Cambridge at SailGP Plymouth to discuss ocean conservation and the plight of the Antipodean albatross.
The New Zealand SailGP Team, in partnership with Live Ocean Foundation, uses sport to raise awareness of threats facing New Zealand’s most endangered albatross.
A gifted Michel Tuffery ‘A for Albatross’ print symbolised the deep connection between Aotearoa, its seabirds, and the need to protect them.
An estimated 2,300 Antipodean albatross are lost every year — most caught on fishing lines.
Sailors and Live Ocean founders Peter Burling and Blair Tuke spoke with the Duchess of Cambridge about the urgent need to protect and restore the ocean ahead of the friendly one-on-one Commonwealth race during SailGP’s Plymouth event.
New Zealand and British SailGP teams competed in a friendly race with the Duchess of Cambridge joining the GBR boat, while UN Patron for the Ocean and extreme ocean swimmer Lewis Pugh jumped on board Amokura.
“The Commonwealth Race was a pretty special way to start the day,” says Tuke. “It was great to spend some time talking with Her Royal Highness about ocean conservation and the power of sport to connect people to such critical messages.”
It was the first project Burling and Tuke got behind when they founded Live Ocean Foundation. The marine conservation organisation has supported the long-term monitoring programme, designed to track Antipodean albatross flight paths to understand where they overlap with fishing fleets.
During the meeting, the pair presented the Duchess with a framed ‘A for Albatross’ woodcut print by Michel Tuffery on behalf of the New Zealand SailGP Team and Live Ocean Foundation, the New Zealand SailGP Team’s Race for the Future partner. The print is on handmade Harakeke paper.
New Zealand artist Michel Tuffery explains, “The A for Albatross woodcut print is a reflection of the northern royal albatross chick ‘Moana’ named by the public back in 2016 at The Royal Albatross Centre at Taiaroa Head, Otago Peninsula. It captures the essence of Manaakitanga, or giving through my observations at that time working alongside the Tangata Whenua, the scientists and Department of Conservation to protect our Taonga habitat for future generations.”
The team chose the Tuffery print as the albatross holds a special connection to Aotearoa New Zealand, Live Ocean Foundation and sailors world over.
Shining a spotlight on the plight of the Antipodean albatross and working to stop their freefall into extinction has been a key part of the team’s partnership with Live Ocean Foundation. They have sailed with the albatross graphic on their f50 wing from Cadiz in season two through to Sydney’s event earlier this year as a symbol of the team’s commitment to bring light to this issue.
The Antipodean albatross is New Zealand’s most threatened albatross with an estimated 2,300 birds being lost each year (Department of Conservation). The number one threat to them is being killed by the long lines from fishing boats.
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