White-capped Albatross by Shary Page Weckwerth of Artists & Biologists Unite for Nature (ABUN) for World Albatross Day 2020, after a photograph by Laurie Smaglick Johnson

Elizabeth (‘Biz’) Bell (Wildlife Management International) and Mike Bell (Toroa Consulting) have produced a final report for the New Zealand Department of Conservation’s Conservation Services Programme (CSP) that aimed to assess the extent to which seabirds can be identified from camera footage and to identify barriers to identification, such as in different fishing methods practiced in New Zealand waters.

Of 688 birds photographed dead that were assigned to a taxon, 285 were of 11 species of ACAP-listed albatrosses and petrels.  Of this total, 126 (44.2%) were identified as Near Threatened White-capped Albatrosses Thalassarche steadi.

The report’s summary follows:

“To understand the threat posed by incidental fisheries captures, accurate identification of seabirds captured in Aotearoa New Zealand fisheries is necessary.  Historically, at-sea identification has been undertaken by Fisheries Observers with expert verification taking place during review of observer photographs and/or necropsy of bycaught individuals, however with the rollout of cameras on inshore commercial vessels, experts are required to assess and verify records of seabird interactions captured via camera footage to identify species to the lowest possible taxonomic level.  This project aimed to assess the extent to which seabirds can be identified (i.e., taxonomic resolution) from camera footage, and to identify barriers to identification, such as in different fishing methods.  The first set of images and videos were reviewed over three days in February 2025 by two seabird experts.

A total of 492 clips were provided for review.  The first 42 events were reviewed independently by both experts to determine accuracy of the video footage and system, as well as consistency with seabird identification, and following this, the remaining footage was split by date, and each timeframe (each alternative day) was reviewed by one expert (with consultation where required).

Within these 492 clips, a total of 777 seabirds were recorded.  An additional 15 clips were missing the interaction detail.  Positive identification was confirmed in 97.0% (477) of all clips.  Most birds were identified as being adults (97.8%; 760).  A total of 26 species of seabird were recorded in these interactions.  The larger number of interactions relative to the necropsy programme over the same timeframe reflects the broader coverage of the on board cameras programme.

Sometimes fishers presented seabirds to the cameras, which aided in identification.  In addition, location (Fisheries Management Area) and date of capture information were used to assist with the identification of species, especially where visually similar species are expected in different locations.  It is possible that further improvements in species identification may be possible if latitude and longitude of the captures are provided (as well as FMA), as well as if fishers were encouraged to present seabirds to the cameras.

Of the 777 seabirds reviewed, 42.2% had been identified to species level by the MPI camera review team, and of these 94.8% were identified correctly.  The MPI camera review team also sorted 54.2% of the seabirds to the correct groups, but many could only be sorted into high level groups which limited the usefulness of the data for detailed analysis. Expert review of the camera imagery confirmed that 41.4% (322 seabirds) aligned to the species or species group that had been assigned by the MPI camera review team.

Of the 777 seabirds identified as part of this project, DOC had also provided identifications through the expedited expert identification process for 227 (29.2%) birds.  There was a 76.7% (174/227) agreement to species level between the identification provided by the expert review and those provided by the DOC experts.  For the events where there was disagreement between identification, 10.6% (24/227) was due to differing levels of taxonomic resolution.

The project demonstrated that the use of experts with experience in seabird identification can ensure rapid and accurate identification of seabirds from camera footage.”

Reference:

Bell, E. & Bell, M. 2026.  Identification of seabirds following review of footage from cameras on Aotearoa New Zealand commercial fishing vessels.  Wellington: New Zealand Aquatic Environment and Biodiversity Report.  No. 373.  17 pp.

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

Global palaeomap showing reconstructed 2-m palaeotemperatures with the posterior distribution of the MRA [most recent common ancestor] geographic coordinates (white points) inferred with the Geo model (from the publication)

Jorge Avaria-Llautureo (School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, UK) and colleagues have published open access in the journal Nature Climate Change on more than 20 species of procellariiforms across millions of years of Earth’s climatic history.  Their research combined evolutionary family trees, ancient climate records and ocean temperature data to reveal how these seabirds responded to past periods of warming and cooling.  Rather than shrinking in size as some marine species do, seabirds responded to rapid warming by contracting their ranges and extending their journeys.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Many marine ectotherms have responded to local warming through body-size reductions and dispersal to optimal environments. However, whether endothermic marine species, such as seabirds, exhibit similar responses remains unclear owing to gaps in literature that hinder comprehensive global assessments.  Here we show that globally distributed seabirds (albatrosses, petrels, shearwaters and storm petrels) facing rapid historical climate change responded with changes in geographic range size rather than body mass.  In addition, under higher rates of climate change, species’ ranges contracted most, forcing these species to disperse longer distances.  These historical inferences align with expected responses to modern climate change, as over 70% of extant species contract their ranges and disperse farther under a climate scenario leading to severe warming by 2100.  These results underscore the urgent need to integrate range dynamics into conservation strategies and reveal that the rate of climate change poses the greatest threat to seabird diversity.”

With thanks to the World Seabird Union.

Reference:

Avaria-Llautureo, J., Rivadeneira, M.M., Venditti, C. & Luna-Jorquera, G.  2026.  Seabird range contraction and dispersal under climate change.  Nature Climate Change doi.org/10.1038/s41558-026-02655-4.

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

Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatrosses occur regularly in Namibian waters, where they are risk to being caught as bycatch by fisheries, photograph by Laurie Smaglick Johnson

Two weeks of meetings of the Albatross and Petrel Agreement commence today in Swakopmund, Namibia.  Day One kicks off with the Ninth Meeting of the Population and Conservation Status Working Group (PaCSWG9) under the Convenorship of Mark Favero (Argentina), Patricia Serafini (Brazil) and Richard Phillips (UK).  The list of the current 33 PaCSWG members and their affiliations can be viewed here.

The one-day meeting will consider eight Documents and 19 Information Papers.  Note some of these documents are only publicly available as summaries.  According to the meeting’s Draft Agenda, subjects to be discussed include Updates on Species Assessments, Population Status and Trends, and Threats (including management of land-based threats, pollution, climate change and High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza).  The meeting will conclude with a review of the working group’s work programme for the period 2026-2028.

The PaCSWG will produce a written report of its deliberations which will tabled for discussion and adoption by the Fifteenth Meeting of ACAP’s Advisory Committee (AC15) during Week Two of the Swakopmund events, to be held from Monday 1 to Friday 5 June in the Swakopmund Plaza Hotel.

The meeting of PaCSWG9 will be followed by a joint SBWG13/PaCSWG9 meeting held on Tuesday 26 May to discuss cross-cutting issues and a three-day meeting of the Seabird Bycatch Working Group (SBWG13, 27-29 May).

More information on the Namibian meetings is available in three AC15 Meeting Circulars. Terms of Reference for the Population and Conservation Status Working Group can be read from here.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses, 25 May 2026

Today is the International Day of Biodiversity (IDB).  Proclaimed by the United Nations to raise awareness of the value of life on Earth, the day serves as a global reminder of the need to safeguard biodiversity and protect the ecosystems that support human well-being.  The day is coordinated by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the international legal instrument for the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources.

The 2026 edition of the IDB has the theme “Acting locally for global impact, Des actions locales à l’impact mondial, Acción local para un impacto mundial”. This fits well with Albatross and Petrel Agreement’s theme for World Albatross Day on 19 June 2026 of “Habitat Restoration”, exemplified by civil society, non-profit organizations and national, regional and local government bodies combining their resources to eradicate alien predators on islands, such as the current projects directed at New Zealand’s Auckland Island and South Africa’s Marion Island.  A second example related to the WAD2026 theme is of NGOs and non profits working with government authorities to create new breeding colonies of albatrosses and petrels, often protected by predator-proof fences, on inhabited Hawaiian Islands and on Mexico’s Guadalupe Island.

A translocated Black-footed Albatross chick close to fledging gets in some exercise next to a guano-splattered adult decoy on Mexico’s Guadalupe Island, photograph by J.A. Soriano, Conservación de Islas

These, and other activities related to the conservation of albatrosses and petrels, will be featured at the 15th Meeting of ACAP’s Advisory Committee and meetings of its Population & Conservation Status and Seabird Bycatch Working Groups in Swakopmund, Namibia over the next two weeks.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 22 May 2026