Humans have traditionally exploited several species of fulmar and shearwater (known as muttonbirds) for food, fuel, and bait, a practice that continues in a controlled fashion today.

The family Procellariidae was introduced (as Procellaridæ) by the English zoologist William Elford Leach in a guide to the contents of the British Museum published in 1820.

[31] Dynamic soaring involves gliding across wave fronts, thus taking advantage of the vertical wind gradient and minimising the effort required to stay in the air.

[32] Because of the high speeds required for flight, procellariids need to either run or face into a strong wind in order to take off.

[34] Procellariids generally have weak legs that are set back, and many species move around on land by resting on the breast and pushing themselves forward, often with the help of their wings.

[23] Of the four species of diving petrel, two are found along the coasts of South America, while the remaining two have circumpolar distributions in the Southern Ocean.

A Manx shearwater released in Boston returned to its colony in Skomer, Wales within 13 days, a distance of 5,150 kilometres (3,200 mi).

With the exception of the giant petrels, all procellariids are exclusively marine, and the diet of all species is dominated by either fish, squid, crustaceans and carrion, or some combination thereof.

Among the surface feeders some, principally the gadfly petrels, can obtain food by dipping from flight, while most of the rest feed while sitting on the water.

Studies have shown strong associations between many different kinds of seabirds, including wedge-tailed shearwaters, and dolphins and tuna, which push shoaling fish up towards the surface.

[46] All the fulmarine petrels readily feed on fisheries discards at sea, a habit that has been implicated in (but not proved to have caused) the expansion in range of the northern fulmar in the Atlantic.

This technique is often used in conjunction with a method known as hydroplaning where the bird dips its bill beneath the surface and propels itself forward with wings and feet as if walking on the water.

[53] Many other species of procellariid, from white-chinned petrels to slender-billed prions, dive to a couple of metres below the surface, though not as proficiently or as frequently as the shearwaters.

Hutton's shearwater (Puffinus huttoni) breeds in burrows on the sea-facing mountainside of the Kaikoura Ranges on South Island, New Zealand.

Procellariids for the most part have weak legs and are unable to easily take off, making them highly vulnerable to mammalian predators.

[64] The study of mitochondrial DNA provides evidence of restricted gene flow between different colonies, and has been used to show philopatry in fairy prions.

[65] Bird ringing provides compelling evidence of philopatry; a study of Cory's shearwaters nesting near Corsica found that nine out of 61 male chicks that returned to breed at their natal colony actually bred in the burrow they were raised in.

It may also be possible to assess the quality of potential mates; a study of blue petrels found a link between the rhythm and duration of calls and the body mass of the bird.

Among the species that exhibit seasonal breeding there can be high levels of synchronization, both of time of arrival at the colony and of lay date.

Males will arrive first and attend the colony more frequently than females, partly in order to protect a site or burrow from potential competitors.

[82] This oil is created in a stomach organ known as a proventriculus from digested prey items, and gives procellariids and other Procellariiformes their distinctive musty smell.

[84] More recently, procellariids have been hunted for food by Europeans, particularly the northern fulmar in Europe, and various species by Inuit,[83] and sailors around the world.

[87] Procellariids overwhelmingly breed on islands away from land predators such as mammals, and for the most part have lost the defensive adaptations needed to deal with them (with the exception of the oil-spitting fulmarine petrels).

The introduction of mammal predators such as feral cats, rats, mongooses and mice can have disastrous results for ecologically naïve seabirds.

[91] That study highlighted the role that non-predatory introduced species can play in harming seabirds; introduced rabbits on the island caused little damage to the petrels, other than damaging their burrows, but they acted as a food source for the rats during the non-breeding season, which allowed rat numbers to be higher than they otherwise would be, resulting in more predators for the petrels to contend with.

These species readily take offal from fishing boats and will steal bait from the long lines as they are being set, risking becoming snared on the hooks and drowning.

The agreement lays out a plan to manage fisheries by-catch, protect breeding sites, promote conservation in the industry, and research threatened species.

The grey-faced petrels of Whale Island (mentioned above) have been achieving much higher fledging successes after the introduced Norway rats were finally completely removed.

[100] The Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels came into force in 2004 and has been ratified by eight countries, Australia, Ecuador, New Zealand, Spain, South Africa, France, Peru and the United Kingdom.

The treaty requires these countries to take specific actions to reduce by-catch and pollution and to remove introduced species from nesting islands.