The main threat to the franciscana is bycatch in gillnet fisheries in its native coastal waters of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay.
The placement of fishing gear over the side of a longline vessel rather than the stern. Studies have shown that seabirds avoid going after baited hooks near the vessel hull, and by the time the stern passes them they are deeper in the water than they would be in stern sets (Brothers and Gilman, 2006)