A Wedge-tailed Shearwater chick in the Kaena Point NAR, photograph by Sora Gallo

Record numbers of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters Ardenna pacifica have bred within the predator-proof fence in the Kaena Point Natural Area Reserve on the Hawaiian island of Oahu this last breeding season.

Surveying Wedge-tailed Shearwaters within the Kaena Point NAR, photograph by Laura Crago

“Annual surveys began at this site in 1994 with only a handful of nests.  In 2011, a mammalian exclusion fence was built to protect Ka‘ena Point's wildlife.  Our latest survey [presumably of the 2024/25 breeding season] estimates there are 16 394 nests inside the fence.  Nest success was 47%, which is higher than the long-term average.

As the size of the colony has increased, so has the effort required to monitor it.  These annual surveys wouldn't be possible without the help of dedicated stewards from conservation organizations across the island.  Finding 30+ people who are willing to spend a day crawling around and peeking/reaching into holes in the ground is no easy feat.

The success of this mammalian exclusion fence and on-going management shows what’s possible when science, protection, and community come together.”

Information from the Facebook page of Pacific Rim Conservation.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 21 October 2025

Mark Shuttleworth in 2019, photograph from Canonical

The Saving Marion Island’s Seabirds: The Mouse-Free Marion (MFM) Project aims to eradicate Marion Island’s introduced House Mice that have taken to attacking and killing the island’s albatrosses and petrels.  Upon successful completion, the project, jointly managed by BirdLife South Africa and the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, will have restored the critical breeding habitat of over two million seabirds, including eight ACAP-listed species, and improve the resilience of the island to a warming climate.

The MFM Project has recently announced an important donation of US$1 million from Mark Shuttleworth, a South African computer entrepreneur and philanthropist currently based in the United Kingdom.  He initially specialised in digital certificates and internet security, first developed in his parents’ Cape Town garage while still a student.

Mark D. Anderson, BirdLife South Africa CEO and Chair of the Mouse-Free Marion Project’s Management Committee, writes: “A few weeks ago, I had a fascinating discussion with Mark Shuttleworth about the Mouse-Free Marion Project.  He asked insightful and thoughtful questions, reflecting his deep commitment to conservation.  His passion is evident in his support for the protection of Príncipe Island off the west coast of Africa, and now, through his interest in our critical work to eradicate invasive House Mice from Marion Island, where they are causing devastating harm to albatrosses and petrels.”

Mark Shuttleworth has been into space, the first South African (and African) to do so, for eight days as a tourist in 2002, when he helped conduct scientific experiments aboard the International Space Station.  He travelled to Antarctica in 2004.  He is one of four Honorary Patrons of BirdLife South Africa, all of whom are passionate about the conservation of South Africa’s natural environment and its birds.  Mark has now continued his philanthropy by supporting the MFM Project, arguably South Africa’s most significant current environmental undertaking, in its effort to “re-wild” 30 000 hectares of South African island territory in the southern Indian Ocean.

On hearing the confirmation of one of the MFM Project’s most notable individual donations, Anton Wolfaardt, Project Manager said: “Mark Shuttleworth’s remarkable contribution provides a huge boost to our endeavour to restore Marion Island’s ecosystem.  His generosity not only strengthens our capacity to deliver this globally significant conservation effort but also inspires others to support the protection of one of our planet’s most extraordinary wild places”.

A breeding female Wandering Albatross on Marion Island, photograph by Linda Clokie

The MFM Project has this month released the 15th Issue of its Newsletter, available for downloading from here, as are all its previous editions.  As well as the usual Editorial, the latest newsletter carries articles on a year in the life of a Vulnerable Wandering Albatross Diomedea exulans breeding on Marion Island, and on the project’s attendance at its second bird fair, in Pretoria, South Africa, following on from the Global Birdfair in the UK earlier in the year.

For more information or to support the MFM Project please visit mousefreemarion.org.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 20 October 2025

UPDATE:  Abstract submission and requests for registration are now open

Submit your abstract here! https://app.oxfordabstracts.com/stages/80103/submitter. (Note: If you don't already have an account with Oxford Abstracts, you will need to create one before submitting your abstract)

 Registration for the 2026 Annual Meeting of the Pacific Seabird Group to be held over 23-27 February 2026 is now open.  In an effort to reduce carbon footprint and engage a wider variety of scientists from around the world, the conference will be held fully online.

The theme for the meeting is “Seabirds: Connecting Oceans, Islands, and People.”

Click here to register:

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 10 October 2025, updated 17 October 2025

 New marine protection sites within the Hauraki Gulf

The Hauraki Gulf/Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill, recently accepted by the New Zealand Government, aims at protecting and restoring the marine environment of the gulf situated off Auckland on North Island.  A network of 19 new marine protection sites within the gulf includes two new marine reserves and 12 “high protection areas” (HPAs) to protect and restore marine habitats and ecosystems.

Two islands towards the outer edge of the Hauraki Gulf, Great Barrier and Little Barrier, between them support the global population of the Vulnerable Black Petrel Procellaria parkinsoni.  According to the Department of Conservation’s map (see above), a relatively large HPA abuts the north shore of the 3083-ha Little Barrier Island Nature Reserve, New Zealand’s first nature reserve, established in 1895.  The island is now introduced predator free, following the removal of 151 feral cats Felis catus from 1977 to 1980 and of Pacific Rats or Kiore Rattus exulans in 2004.  Click here to access the 2017 management plan for Te Hauturu-o-Toi/Little Barrier.

A Black Petrel at sea off North Cape, New Zealand, photograph by Kirk Zufelt

The Hauraki Gulf/Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Act will come into force on 25 October 2025.

Read more details on the Hauraki Gulf/Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection here.

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