MANKIND must rediscover the need to “work in harmony with nature” if it is to survive, the Prince of Wales said last night.

He was speaking at a reception in Clarence House, central London, for supporters of the Albatross Task Force (ATF).

He told the specially invited audience about his memories of seeing the birds when he served in the Royal Navy.

The Prince said: “I remember sailing long distances across the oceans and one of the most marvellous treats of those long passages was to come out on deck and see another albatross or two circling around or following the wake of the ship.

“There was something encouraging and heartening about the fact you were being escorted by these extraordinary birds.”

The Prince added: “It is our duty to find a way of ensuring that our grandchildren have the same thrill of seeing and knowing about the existence of these birds.”

The ATF, set up in 2006 to reduce the number of seabirds killed by fishermen, reduced the number of albatrosses and petrels caught in South African fisheries by 85% last year.

The Prince admitted to what he described as “a certain amount of meddling” in the issue by writing to heads of state around the world, asking them to support it.

He said: “We have to rediscover the need to work in harmony with nature.”

RSPB chief executive Graham Wynne praised the Prince for his “considered, inspired, passionate support” of the scheme.