Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels

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Read about recent developments and findings in procellariiform science and conservation relevant to the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels in ACAP Latest News.

Field research on White-capped Albatrosses and White-chinned Petrels on the Auckland Islands in the 2025/ summer season

White-capped Albatross movements, December 2025–June 2026. Trackers fitted at South West Cape, Auckland Islands

Graham Parker (Parker Conservation) and colleagues have submitted their final report on field work with White-capped Albatross Thalassarche steadi is and White-chinned Petrels Procellaria aequinoctialis on Auckland Island during the 2025/26 breeding season to the Conservation Services Programme of New Zealand’s Department of Conservation.

The report’s Executive Summary follows:

“The white-capped albatross Thalassarche cauta steadi is the most bycaught seabird species in New Zealand fisheries and the third most at-risk species in the NZ fisheries risk assessment. There is uncertainty in both demographic and abundance estimate trends. Contrasting trends in abundance estimates show either a steep population decline, a shallow, non-significant population decline, or something in between. This project aimed to address the data gaps for this heavily bycaught species.

We aimed to estimate the population size of white-capped albatross on Disappointment Island, monitor adult survival, and describe their at-sea distribution. Secondary objectives were tracking work on Gibson’s albatross and white-chinned petrels.

Conditions for landing at Castaways Bay, Disappointment Island, were unworkable. We therefore focused on tracking and demographic work at Auckland and Adams Island. At Southwest Cape, Auckland Island, we deployed tracking devices on white-capped albatrosses and conducted drone surveys of some of the colony areas there. At Adams Island we deployed tracking devices on Gibson’s albatrosses and white-chinned petrels. Secondarily we focused on collecting demographic data for white-chinned petrels in an area where the birds were studied and burrows marked 2013–2018.

Tracking devices were deployed on all three focal species in December 2025 in the Auckland Islands. Of the three types of tracking devices on white-capped albatrosses at SW Cape, one collected the first flight altitude data for this species. Tracking devices were also deployed on white-capped albatrosses and white-chinned petrels in November 2026 at Kaikoura. Six out of the eight white-capped albatrosses from Southwest Cape have stayed in Australasian waters, while the other two migrated to waters off southern Africa. White-capped albatrosses caught at sea off Kaikoura showed a similar pattern with three of the four birds staying in NZ waters. GLS from the white-capped albatross study colony on Disappointment Isl 2023–24 provided year-round distributions for seven birds. Of these, four stayed in Australasian waters year-round, foraging in NZ waters, in the Tasman and up into the Great Australian Bight, while three spent time off southern Africa. Gibson’s albatross juveniles equipped on Adams Island in December, foraged primarily in the Tasman and in waters north of the Chatham Rise during the first six months. Trackers fitted on white-chinned petrels in the Auckland Islands and at sea off Kaikoura showed that over the December to May period, birds foraged mainly on the Campbell Plateau and off the South Island East Coast. As the breeding season ended, five of the birds so far have made the migration to their wintering areas in waters off South America.

Drone overflight on 10 March 2026, by a DOC team working nearby two months after us, allowed counts of the 988 white-capped albatrosses present on the eastern side of Southwest Cape (819 in the Gulch and 169 along the east-facing slopes of Southwest Cape). These are raw counts of birds present. Image quality was good at upper levels, but lower on the steep colony slopes image quality deteriorated. White-capped albatrosses on lower slopes could be identified, but nesting birds could not be reliably distinguished from those loafing in the colony. Ground-truthing data was not collected at the time of aerial photos, so we did not refine the raw count of birds present into an estimate of active nests on 10 March.

When trends for white-capped albatross numbers in their SW Cape breeding colony are modelled, we see that annual breeding pairs peaked in the late 2000s, but after a period of roughly stable abundance, there has been gradual decline since ~2013. The gradual decline over the last decade mirrors the trend seen for the population as a whole.

We investigated 335 white-chinned petrels burrows and could accurately determine the contents for 130. Burrow occupancy was 38% (50 occupied buuyrrows out of the 130 known-contents burrows), lower than occupancy rates expected for white-chinned petrels in the Auckland Islands. Of the fifty occupied burrows, seven contained a banded bird and 43 did not.

Mark-recapture at the Disappointment Island white-capped albatross study colony was just starting to yield quality adult survival estimates at last visit, so recaptures and banding of new white-capped albatrosses remain priorities so trends in adult survival can be assessed. Access to Disappointment Island requires more vessel-standby days to improve the chances of workable conditions occurring. It is important to develop a quality DEM for Disappointment Island in advance, so that drone image quality is retained on lower parts of albatross slopes. During drone overflight, concurrent ground-truthing is vital to estimate the number of active nests. Aerial photography is useful, but mark-recapture is important to allow more detailed insight into the population health of the species.”

Reference:

Parker, G., Philps, B., Rowley, L., Sagar, R., Simister, K. & Rexer-Huber, K. 2026. Auckland Islands albatross and petrel research 2025–26. Wellington: Conservation Services Programme, Department of Conservation. 22 pp.

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

South Africa adopts a new National Plan of Action -Seabirds for 2026-2030

South Africa has adopted a new National Plan of Action -Seabirds for the period 2026 to 2030. The government press release follows:

“The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has adopted the National Plan of Action II for the Conservation and Management of Seabirds in South African Fisheries (NPOA Seabirds II), setting out the country’s strategy for 2026 - 2030 to reduce incidental seabird mortality further and strengthen monitoring, reporting and adaptive management. NPOA Seabirds II builds on the 2008 plan through an evidence-based approach informed by updated survey data, fisheries observer records, strandings and tracking studies.

According to the department, the plan consolidates current information on conservation status and the known interactions between South African fisheries and all seabird species occurring in South African waters. It also identifies priority areas where targeted action is required.

“It also serves as a compendium of up-to-date information on legislation and policy related to seabird-fisheries interactions and provides useful sector-specific information on current knowledge of interactions and mitigation,” the department said. The plan’s target of “zero impact on the sustainability of seabird populations by South African fisheries” is highly ambitious but achievable.

It establishes clear, measurable objectives to reduce bycatch across gear types, including longline, trawl, purse seine, pole-and-line and gillnet fisheries, while working towards evidence-based mitigation measures tailored to each fishery and vessel class.

NPOA Seabirds II explicitly incorporates updated species-level interaction data and conservation assessments to ensure mitigation measures are proportionate to the level of risk.

A defining feature of the plan is its formalised cross-sector collaboration. DFFE Oceans and Coasts and fisheries managers will partner with industry, BirdLife South Africa, the Albatross Task Force, academic institutions and provincial conservation agencies to co-design mitigation trials, deliver skipper and observer training, and share monitoring data via common platforms.

“Joint funding mechanisms and shared governance arrangements have been established to enable transparent, adaptive implementation. This integrated approach is framed as a win-win: reducing seabird mortality while maintaining sustainable, productive fisheries and supporting coastal livelihoods,” the department said.

The plan also includes capacity building, targeted public outreach and alignment with international best practices and agreements. NPOA Seabirds II commits to an iterative review process that will incorporate new evidence and operational feedback. The plan reflects a science-led, cooperative pathway to protect vulnerable seabird populations without compromising fishing operations.”

Find the full text of the new 36-page NPOA-Seabirds here.

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

Funding opportunity: the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels - Renewables Environmental Research Initiative (ACAP-RERI)

An offshore wind farm

The Renewables Environmental Research Initiative (RERI) is an Australian Government programme to support a more efficient transition to onshore and offshore renewable energy while protecting biodiversity. As part of this initiative, the Australian Government (through the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water) is partnering with ACAP to understand better the potential long-term impacts of offshore wind farms on albatrosses, petrels and other procellariiform species.

Wind power is a key source of new electricity generation and part of the renewable energy transition. Despite significant growth in offshore wind farm developments, there remain substantial knowledge gaps regarding how these developments affect southern hemisphere seabirds, particularly albatrosses and petrels and other procellariiform species. To mitigate and manage effectively any potential impacts on such species associated with offshore wind farms, robust decision-making grounded in rigorous scientific knowledge and data is needed.

The Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels - Renewables Environmental Research Initiative (ACAP-RERI) will be delivered by an AUS$2.5 million four-year competitive granting process and will be completed on or before 30 June 2030. It will deliver a suite of targeted research projects to provide new and better environmental information on albatrosses, petrels and other procellariiform species most vulnerable to the impacts of offshore wind farms. The projects will draw on lessons learned from around the world and will inform regulatory guidance, including the assessment and approval of offshore wind farms under Australia's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act).

To achieve these aims, ACAP-RERI will focus on the following research themes:

Improve understanding of the size, structure and population trends of albatrosses, petrels and other procellariiform species breeding and/or foraging in Australia's jurisdiction.
Improve understanding of the potential impacts to albatrosses, petrels and other procellariiform species from offshore wind farms.
Support the management of potential impacts to albatrosses, petrels and other procellariiform species from offshore wind farms.
Translate findings from the ACAP-RERI into targeted, accessible formats to support evidence-based decision-making.

Notification of Intent (NOI) to apply

Prospective applicants are invited to submit a Notification of Intent (NOI) form.

An NOI is a brief, preliminary submission that signals intention to submit a full application. While not a full proposal, the NOI allows us to plan the review process and ensure appropriate expertise is available for assessing applications.

While it is encouraged, submission of an NOI is optional:

An NOI is not required in order to apply for a research grant when the official application opens.
Submission of an NOI does not commit an applicant to submitting a full application.
The NOI form will remain open until the formal application process opens.

How to submit:

Complete the Notification of Intent form.

Further information on the formal application process will be provided in September 2026.

For questions about the NOI process or eligibility, please contact the ACAP Secretariat at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

ACAP Secretariat, 26 August 2026

Highly Pathogenetic Avian Influenza hits older seabirds hardest in one study: implications for long-lived albatrosses?

A pair of Sandwich Terns engage in mutual display on the United Kingdom's Farne Islands

Wouter Courtens (Research Institute for Nature and Forest, Brussels, Belgium) and colleagues have published open access in the journal Nature Communications showing that older Sandwich Terns Thalasseus sandvicensis are more likely to succumb to Highly Pathogenetic Avian Influenza (HPAI) than are younger birds. The implications for long-lived ACAP albatrosses and petrels warrant study, as the following texts taken from their publication attest.

“We show that HPAI-related mortality during the 2022 outbreak in northwestern European Sandwich terns was age-biased, with older individuals disproportionately affected, while mortality was not biased by sex. This pattern suggests that HPAI did not act as a random mortality source, but selectively removed individuals that likely contribute substantially to population growth. … Seabirds – including penguins, albatrosses, petrels, gannets, gulls, terns and auks – share life-history traits such as delayed maturity, low annual reproductive output, and colonial breeding, making them particularly vulnerable to adult mass mortality events caused by infectious diseases. The loss of experienced individuals could reduce the reproductive output, delaying recovery, and increase the risk of long-term population declines. … For seabirds already facing multiple pressures, including climate change, overfishing, predation, and habitat loss, the emergence of HPAI adds an additional source of vulnerability in an increasingly unstable world.”

The paper’s abstract follows:

“In recent years, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A (H5N1) clade 2.3.4.4b viruses have caused mass mortality events in seabirds worldwide, raising concern for long-lived species with low reproductive rates. Using 28 years of ringing data together with individual-level data from the 2022 mass mortality event in northwestern European Sandwich terns (Thalasseus sandvicensis), we show that mortality was biased towards older individuals, while no sex bias was observed. HPAI-related mortality increased from approximately 5–10% in young breeders to more than 40% in the oldest individuals. This age-biased loss likely removed the most experienced individuals from the population. Our findings highlight a previously underappreciated mechanism through which HPAI outbreaks may impair the resilience of long-lived avian populations.”

Reference:

Courtens, W., Ballmann, M., Fijn, R. et al. 2026. Avian influenza amplified age-related mortality in a long-lived seabird. Nature Communications 1 7, 8653 doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-76726-7.

With thanks to Rob Simmons.

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

First record of Highly Pathogenetic Avian Influenza in an ACAP-listed species in New Zealand

A Northern Giant Petrel chick close to fledging on New Zealand’s Auckland Island, photograph by Colin O'Donnell

Highly Pathogenetic Avia Influenza (HPAI) has been confirmed in a Northern Giant Petrel Macronectes halli from the southeastern corner of New Zealand's North Island.

“A third case of H5 bird flu has been detected in a northern giant petrel, in the Wairarapa. Ministry for Primary Industries says it was found dead on a remote Cape Palliser beach. It follows cases found in a kāhu, or swamp harrier, and a brown skua. It was found by a Department of Conservation (DOC) ranger, who notified the MPI hotline. Samples received by the MPI Animal Health Laboratory on 14 August were tested and initially found low levels of influenza virus in the bird. It took several rounds of testing to confirm bird flu.”

The New Zealand record is the first for an ACAP-listed seabird. In Australia at least 17 giant petrels have been found to be infected with HPAI.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 24 August 2026