Australia has already won the support of New Zealand, Ecuador, Spain, Britain and South Africa in ratifying an agreement to protect albatrosses and petrels, which came into effect in February.

But it believes the plight of the two seabirds is now so dire that much more needs to be done if they are to be rescued from extinction.

"Australia is hosting this meeting because we believe that more can be done to protect these birds, whose journeys have inspired mariners for years and continue to link Southern Hemisphere countries," said Environment Minister Ian Campbell.

The conference, which starts in Hobart, capital of Australia's island state of Tasmania on Monday, brings together for the first time the signatories to the agreement on the conservation of albatrosses and petrels.

Campbell said the protection of the species and their habitat could not be achieved by one country alone.

"On some sub-Antarctic islands the breeding populations of some species can now be numbered on one hand," he said.

"Losses of this scale are unsustainable and will lead to rapid extinction if not checked."

He said the biggest threat to the birds came from the devastating impact of longline fishing, which is still pursued by a number of countries despite efforts to ban it.

Australia will propose to the conference an action plan to reduce the impact of the practice.

Experts estimate the practice of long-line fishing kills 300,000 seabirds each year and simple changes could cut the toll by 80 percent. Many more birds are killed through contamination of their habitat.

"This week's talks will discuss the priority actions and strategies that each country can implement to help with the valuable conservation work," Campbell said.

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