Breeding colonies of White-chinned Petrel (open circles) in the south Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Colonies where samples were collected are indicated by a star (from the publication)

Viviane Barquete (FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa) and colleagues have published open access in the journal Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems on the origins of White-chinned Petrel Procellaria aequinoctialis killed by longline fisheries.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Incidental capture (bycatch) of seabirds in longline and trawl fisheries is one of the main threats to many albatrosses and large petrels.  The White-chinned Petrel (Procellaria aequinoctialis) has a circumpolar distribution and is the seabird species killed most frequently by fisheries in the Southern Ocean.  In an attempt to identify provenance, stable isotope values (δ13 C and δ15 N) in feathers from White-chinned Petrels killed in longline fisheries off Brazil, South Africa and New Zealand were compared with those from petrels breeding at five major colonies (South Georgia, Prince Edward, Crozet, Kerguelen and Antipodes Islands).  Feather δ15 N, and to a lesser extent, δ13 C values in feathers differed among breeding birds sampled at South Georgia, Antipodes Islands and the three Indian Ocean colonies.  Given that adult feathers are moulted primarily in temperate waters, away from heir colonies, this confirms that most adults from these three regions winter in different areas.  Discriminant function analysis of stable isotope values indicated that most petrels killed off Brazil and South Africa were from Atlantic and Indian Ocean populations, respectively.  Birds killed in New Zealand fisheries in summer were assigned to populations from all three oceans, with few assigned to the Antipodes; however, we lacked stable isotope data from the Auckland Islands, which is the most likely source population.  Identifying the origin of bycaught birds is essential for determining which populations are affected by human activities and for prioritising conservation efforts.  This includes targeting of mitigation regulations, monitoring of compliance and bycatch rates, and ensuring cooperation between breeding and non-breeding range states to ensure best practices are adopted in national fisheries and in the high seas.”

With thanks to Sandy Bartle.

Reference:

Barquete, V., Cherel, Y. Phillips, R.A., Thompson, D., Chilvers, B.L., Wanless, R.M. & Ryan, P.G. 2025.  Using stable isotopes to assign origin of White-Chinned Petrels killed by longline fisheries.  Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems doi.org/10.1002/aqc.70182.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 17 July 2025

Recording a Laysan Albatross chick, UN World Restoration Flagship Comprehensive Island Restoration in Mexico, photograph by Todd Brown

“The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) have named the first World Restoration Flagships for this year, tackling pollution, unsustainable exploitation and invasive species in three continents. These initiatives are restoring almost five million hectares of marine ecosystems – an area about the size of Costa Rica, which co-hosts with France the UN Ocean Conference.

The three new flagships comprise restoration initiatives in more than sixty of Mexico’s islands, the coral-rich Northern Mozambique Channel, and the Mar Menor in Spain, Europe’s first ecosystem with a legal personhood. Winning initiatives were announced at an event during the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France, and are now eligible for UN support.

Recognized worldwide as vital hotspots for biodiversity, particularly for being home to one third of the world’s seabird species, the Mexican islands had long suffered the negative impacts of invasive species.

26 years ago, Mexico’s National Commission for Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) and the civil society organisation Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas (GECI) launched an ambitious, comprehensive ecological restoration program, in collaboration with partners from government agencies, civil society, academia, and local communities.

Efforts include removing 60 populations of invasive species and restoring seabird colonies, as well as forest landscape restoration. Coupled with implementing biosecurity protocols, the comprehensive programme restores the island’s endemic richness and supports local island communities.”

“Across Mexico's precious islands, tangible restoration actions and results are breathing new life into vital ecosystems, directly bolstering rich insular and marine biodiversity of global relevance, saving species, and weaving firm threads into the livelihoods of local communities,” said Dr. Marina Robles García, Undersecretary of Biodiversity and Environmental Restoration, Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT). “Building on this type of success, Mexico is forging ahead with a robust National Environmental Restoration Program, casting its islands as a shining flagship for the revitalization of our myriad ecosystems.

Thanks to restoration efforts, 85 per cent of formerly extirpated seabird colonies have returned to the islands, including species at risk of extinction. The initiative will complete the restoration of over 100,000 hectares by the end of the decade – equivalent to almost a million hectares of continental land in terms of biodiversity value — encompassing almost 100 islands, and protecting over 300 endemic species of mammals, birds, reptiles and birds.

An enduring relationship with local communities ensures their involvement in the initiative and their benefits: enhanced resilience facing extreme weather events, sustainable fisheries, and ecotourism.”

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 16 July 2025

 A bird-scaring line in action, photograph by Domingo Jimenez

The Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction, in collaboration with Ocean Associates, Inc., and with funding from Broadreach, is pleased to announce the availability of grants for reducing marine bycatch.

“The kinds of projects eligible for support are ones that assess bycatch or evaluate potential strategies to reduce it, including field tests of modified fishing gear or operations.  All projects should help build capacity in small-scale fisheries, particularly ones in developing countries.  The rationale for focusing on these fisheries is that they often produce high bycatch of protected, endangered and threatened (PET) species but tend to have limited financial resources for supporting their management, while also lacking the political will to confront the problem.  In contrast, fisheries in developed countries tend to provide more resources for better management and from more developed government infrastructure, such as sufficient regulations and management capacity.

Under this funding opportunity, projects that occur in developed countries or large-scale fisheries are unlikely to receive support but might be awarded if they have potentially major application to small-scale fisheries.

Projects can focus on any or a mix of these taxa: elasmobranchs, seabirds, marine mammals, sea turtles and other marine animals.  Encouraged are lines of inquiry into the potential to enhance visual detection of fishing gear/operations, demonstrate the potential of electro-magnetic deterrents, evaluate alternative fishing gear (“gear switching”) that might produce less bycatch than gear standardly used in a fishery, or support tests of acoustic and other technologies.  Although projects that assess bycatch where none or only a few sporadic ones have occurred are important and eligible under the current competition, preference will be given to bycatch mitigation projects.

Over the long term, in addition to helping the recovery of PET species, the ultimate impact of these grants is to contribute to building local capacity for establishing sustainable bycatch programmes.  US$50 000 will be awarded to one or at most three projects under this grant programme.  The criteria to be used in evaluating proposals will be similar to those used for the Fund for Marine Mammal Bycatch.

Solutions which considered the degree of threat to the PET species targeted by the proposed project, how well documented the type of fishing gear as a risk to the targeted by-caught species, whether or not the investigators plan to collaborate with and share their results with government authorities who have jurisdiction over fisheries management and marine mammal bycatch, if the researcher has the overall qualifications and experience in the proposed area and is capable of successfully completing the proposed research, if the project has the potential to positively impact other fisheries or nations in the region, if it uses acceptable scientific methods (e.g. experiment is of sufficient size to yield reliable scientific results), has the necessary controls, and whether or not the proposed work has a high probability of success.  Applications that focus on fisheries that export products to the USA are also a priority. (See NOAA’s List of Foreign Fisheries).”

Applicants must use this application form and provide the information requested.

Applicants requiring assistance should contact the Bycatch Consortium at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The due date for all application materials is 15 August 2025.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 15 July 2025

A previously banded female Waved Albatross incubates an egg near a decoy, photograph by Enzo Reyes

Dr. Enzo Reyes, Coordinator of the Social Attraction Project on Isla de La Plata off the mainland coast of Ecuador, has written to ACAP Latest News with an update on the attempt to increase the numbers of Critically Endangered Waved Albatrosses Phoebastria irrorata breeding on the island.

“At least two pairs of Waved Albatrosses are currently incubating eggs within the colony, [the] same individuals previously banded by the project team during last year’s field season.  We have not yet detected any new individuals being attracted by the social attraction system,”

“One individual was observed resting beside a pair of standing decoys.  It stood up and moved away when researchers approached to read the bird’s colour band.  An encouraging sign that the birds are responding to the presence of the decoys as if they were real conspecifics”, photograph by Enzo Reyes

Dr. Reyes continues: “we remain very optimistic, as the system has only been operational for a few months.  A promising sign is that some albatrosses are starting to interact with the visual decoys.  One individual was observed resting next to two decoys, which suggests the setup is drawing attention.  These early signs indicate that the project is progressing in the right direction, and continued monitoring will be essential to assess the long-term success of the attraction strategy in reestablishing breeding activity in this historic colony.”

Social attraction using decoys has been used for several other albatross species, including Short- tailed P. albatrus by Japan (Torishima and Mukojima) and the USA (Kure and Midway Atolls), Black-footed P. nigripes by Mexico (Isla Guadalupe) and the USA (Oahu, Hawaii) and for the Vulnerable Chatham Albatross Thalassarche impavida by New Zealand (Chatham Island).

What other localities lend themselves to use of decoys and/or sound broadcast systems to establish new or reestablish breeding colonies for albatrosses?  The environmental NGO Pacific Rim Conservation has had a first look at the Channel Islands (Santa Barbara and San Nicolas) off California, USA for establishing new Black-footed and Laysan P immutabilis Albatross colonies.  The inhabited island of Tristan da Cunha where Critically Endangered Tristan Albatrosses Diomedea dabbenena used to breed and very occasionally still visit is a possibility.  Only two to three breeding pairs of Tristan Albatrosses linger on the Tristan group’s little visited Inaccessible Island, where placement of decoys might help the species re-establish a colony that was once at least a 100 pairs.

ACAP Latest News will be pleased to hear of any other existing, tried, planned or possible social attraction projects by use of decoys or other methods for any of the world’s threatened albatrosses.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 09 July 2025