The population of waved albatrosses on the Galápagos is protected by national park personnel, and the island is also categorized as a World Heritage Site. But limited range, bycatch by longline fishing, disturbance via tourism, disease, and the effects of illegal fishing in the nearby waters place them in considerable jeopardy. Longline fishing in particular seems to be having a severe impact on the species, the conservation status of which was upgraded from near threatened to vulnerable by the IUCN in 2000.