Wandering Albatross by Lea Finke of Artists & Biologists Unite for Nature (ABUN) for the inaugural World Albatross Day on 19 June 2020, after a photograph by Kirk Zufelt

Victoria Warwick-Evans (British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK) and colleagues have published open access in the journal Conservation Biology on the overlap between fisheries and Vulnerable Wandering Albatrosses Diomedea exulans from two different colonies in  the South Atlantic.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Bycatch in fisheries is one of the most serious threats to pelagic seabirds, causing major population declines.  Mitigation measures can reduce bycatch substantially, but many fisheries fail to apply best practices, and seabird mortality remains high. Seabirds often segregate at sea according to sex and life-history stage, and bycatch risk can vary accordingly.  Few studies have tested whether spatial segregation among colonies in foraging areas affects bycatch risk.  We tracked nonbreeding wandering albatrosses (Diomedea exulans) from Bird Island and neighboring Prion Island, South Georgia, to investigate whether differences in at-sea distributions and overlap with fisheries explain the contrasting population trends. Tracked individuals at Bird Island were of known status (immature or nonbreeding adults), and at Prion Island, they were most likely older immatures and potentially a few nonbreeding adults.  There was marked spatial segregation between age classes at Bird Island, but the pattern between breeding sites was more complex. The overlap with fisheries was highest in nonbreeding adults from Bird Island, which experienced a faster rate of population decline than at Prion Island, where overlap with fisheries was lower. Overlap was highest with Chinese, South Korean, and Taiwanese squid jiggers, Taiwanese pelagic longliners, and Argentinian and Spanish trawlers. By improving our knowledge of the spatiotemporal overlap of seabirds with fisheries, management initiatives can be directed at the fleets that represent the greatest threats.”

With thanks to Richard Phillips.

Reference:

Warwick-Evans, V., Pearmain, E.J. & Phillips, R.A. 2026.  Overlap of nonbreeding wandering albatrosses with fisheries and implications for colony-specific population trajectories at South Georgia.  Conservation Biology DOI: 10.1111/cobi.70260.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 27 March 2026

 
French, Portuguese and Spanish versions of this year’s World Albatross logo are now available to join the previously released English version.  All four versions, in landscape and portrait formats, may be freely downloaded for use in promoting “WAD2026” and its theme of “Habitat Restoration” on 19 June from here.

The Portuguese logo has been produced this year to recognize that the Endangered Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross Thalassarche chlororhynchos, one of the two albatross species to be featured for WAD2026 with an infographic, posters and artworks, is a regular visitor to the waters of Portuguese-speaking Brazil, which is one of the 13 Parties to the Agreement.

This year’s logo has been produced by by illustrator Namasri “Namo” Niumim, who resides in Bangkok, Thailand.  Namo is not new to ACAP, as she has produced all the ACAP Species Infographics to date.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 26 March 2026

An Antipodean Albatross breeds next to the megaherb, Lance-leaf Button Daisy Pleurophyllum hookeri, on Adams Island, Auckland Island, photograph by Colin ODonnell

The Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS, also known as the Bonn Convention) is considering a report (UNEP/CMS/COP15/Doc.31.2.9, also available in French and Spanish) on the Endangered Antipodean Albatross Diomedea antipodensis (listed on CMS Appendix I) at its Fifteenth Meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP15), being held this week in Campo Grande, Brazil.  The 16-page report on implementation of the Concerted Action for the albatross, (UNEP/CMS/Concerted Action 13.12) adopted at COP13 in 2020, has been submitted by the Governments of Australia, Chile and New Zealand.  Its Summary follows:

“This report provides the third implementation update for the Antipodean albatross Concerted Action.  Good progress towards achieving the various fisheries management and research objectives is reported.  In particular, a number of new domestic fisheries management measures have been implemented and intensive satellite tracking has identified key areas of overlap with fishing activity in the high seas.  However, progress in addressing high seas fishery bycatch (the greatest threat) remains limited and population monitoring shows no recovery.  As such, a revised Concerted Action is proposed for the next intersessional period, with a particular focus on addressing high seas fishery bycatch.”

Antipodean Albatross, artwork by Lea Finke for the inaugural World Albatross Day on 19 June 2020, after a photograph by Kirk Zufelt

The report ends with a call for action: “Given the lack of recovery of Antipodean albatross, and the slow progress in addressing the greatest threats (fisheries bycatch in the high seas), we propose an updated Concerted Action is endorsed for the next intersessional period.  The updated Concerted Action will guide and prioritise future actions, in particular towards addressing the threat of fisheries bycatch in the high seas.”

"CMS Appendix I comprises migratory species in danger of extinction in the wild throughout all or a significant portion of their range. Parties that are Range States to a migratory species listed on Appendix I endeavour to strictly protect them by prohibiting the taking of such species (including the deliberate killing, capture or disturbance), with a very restricted scope for exceptions; conserving and, where appropriate, restoring their habitats; preventing, removing or mitigating obstacles to their migration; and controlling other factors that might endanger them" (click here).

Access ACAP's report (UNEP/CMS/COP15/Inf.10.3.2) to COP15 here.  In its report ACAP welcomes the third report on the implementation of, and proposal for, a continuation of the Concerted Action for the Antipodean Albatross.  It also  notes the proposal for a Concerted Action for the Flesh-footed Shearwater Ardenna carneipes that links to the proposal for the listing of this species on Appendix II (read more here).

ACAP Latest News will report on the outcome of the submission on the Antipodean Albatross to COP15 once information is made publicly available by the Convention.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 25 March 2026

Westland Petrel, photograph by Raja Stephenson

Te Arawhetu Waipoua (Department of Conservation, New Zealand- and colleagues have produced a final report for the New Zealand Department of Conservation’s Conservation Services Programme (CSP) on the overlaps between Endangered and ACAP-listed Westland Petrels Procellaria westlandica and domestic longline and trawl fisheries.

The report’s summary follows:

“Seabird bycatch in fisheries is a major conservation concern globally, yet fine-scale evaluations of overlap, and thus, indirectly, risk, remain limited for many species.  Tāiko/Westland petrel (Procellaria westlandica) are endemic to Aotearoa (New Zealand) and exclusively breed at a single colony near Punakaiki on the West Coast of Te Waipounamu (South Island).  This species is highly vulnerable to bycatch in domestic fisheries, including surface longline, bottom longline, and trawl fisheries.  To quantify tāiko distribution and overlap with domestic fishing effort, we combined four consecutive years of broad-scale adult geolocation (GLS) tracking data (2021-2025; n = 146) with two years of fine-scale GPS tracking (2024-25; n = 37).  We applied two complementary analyses: (i) raster-based overlap, aggregating GLS tracking and fishing data into gridded surfaces to evaluate co-occurrence intensity across space and time, and (ii) point-based spatiotemporal overlap, measuring direct coincidence between individual bird GPS locations and E-logbook recorded fishing events.

We then contrasted these approaches with recorded bycatch events (n = 120; 2020-2025). GLS data revealed strong seasonal connectivity between Aotearoa and South America. However, surprisingly, tāiko occurred in Aotearoa waters year-round. Consequently, broad-scale raster-based analyses indicated year-round overlap with domestic fisheries, peaking austral mid-winter in core breeding areas and dominated by deepwater trawl, particularly for hoki (Macruronus novaezelandiea), followed by deepwater ling (Genypterus blacodes) bottom longline fisheries. Fine-scale point-based analyses showed incubating birds spent an average of 2.1 hours per day within 3 km of fishing vessels, with >98% of co-occurrence time near trawlers.  Contrasting with these co-occurrence patterns, recorded bycatch predominantly originated from deepwater ling bottom longline fisheries (despite high observer coverage in multiple fleets).  Our findings underscore that co-occurrence does not always directly translate to bycatch risk and that fleet specific catchabilities should be considered alongside other fishery- or fleet-specific nuances.  More importantly, our results highlight the current level of tāiko bycatch within the ling bottom longline fishery and thus further targeted efforts to reduce bycatch of this endemic species in this fishery is required.

Additionally, the deepwater trawl fishery would benefit from improved data collection, particularly to quantify warp strike risks, to place the current high co occurrence with low recorded bycatch into the necessary context. Our approach combining multiple data sources thus provided robust insights to guide evidence-based bycatch reduction strategies, without the direct need to employ highly complicated modelling exercises.”

Reference:

Waipoua, T., Rutter, J., Simister, K., Bose, S., Taylor, G., Rowley, O., Debski, I. & Fischer, J. 2026.  INT2024-08: Westland petrel overlap with domestic fishing effort.  Wellington: Conservation Services Programme, Department of Conservation.  29 pp.