Dunedin Sea Birds owner Allan Anderson’s charter boat service promotes the opportunity to feed the albatrosses. Passengers throw chum at the seabirds.
However, this has drawn the ire of critics and the Department of Conservation.
After Mr Anderson advertised his charters, he was soon flooded with critiques about "normalising" the feeding of wild animals, and the risks around birds starting to associate fishing vessels with food.
The Department of Conservation also said they would like to speak to Mr Anderson about the "risks the activity he is promoting poses to seabirds".
However, a university zoologist said feeding chum to seabirds "did not create a reliance".
Mr Anderson, a former commercial fisherman, said he had been giving the seabirds chum from when he was a small boy.
"You’re not a fisherman without having a following of seabirds — what I’ve tried to do now is take people to see them the same way we used to see them as a fisherman."
There was no nets and no hooks involved.
During the charter, the birds would get no more than 20kg of chum, and he could control how many seabirds were following behind.
"I’m sorry if I’ve upset people — and if you think I’m doing something wrong, I’m open to ideas.
"But the negative people should come and see the business and understand what it’s all about ... it’s not evil.
"I’m only trying to do a good thing."
Everything had been done in consultation with Doc.
Mr Anderson originally spoke to them two years ago with his idea for a charter service to see the seabirds.
He was told running such a charter fell under the Wildlife Act, so no permit was needed, but they did have recommendations he should follow.
Doc’s lawyers had also looked into the matter and found no issues, he said.
"We’re running things exactly as they suggested."
Doc scientists have also made use of his charter services to be able to count bird populations. However, with some retirements within Doc, he was now being asked to meet for further discussions.
"People that we’d talked to in Doc have now gone — there’s a new regime there now."
Doc Coastal Otago principal ranger biodiversity, heritage and visitors Samantha Marsh said they sent Mr Anderson a letter in September following a face-to-face meeting where they raised concerns and advocated against the activity.
"Sea bird bycatch is a serious issue, and we have been working with the fishing industry to try to reduce it.
"Feeding seabirds from a vessel will attract them to other vessels and put them at risk."
She said Doc would like to speak to Mr Anderson again about "the risks the activity he is promoting poses to seabirds".
University of Otago zoologist Bruce Robertson said throwing chum to the seabirds was a common tactic tour companies in New Zealand and overseas regularly used.
"For some species, that’s probably the only way you’ll ever see them because they don’t follow boats."
Petrels had a keen sense of smell, and could sniff out the chum from quite far away.
Feeding the seabirds in this way was not going to cause them to become reliant on handouts from humans, he said.
"They’ll always be on the lookout for food — If it was a really predictable food source that was there 24/7, then that could be problematic.
"But if you’re just going out there and putting some chum in the water, attracting some petrels flying in, you know, they’re not going to become reliant on it."
