The Critically Endangered Waved Albatross needs our help, painting by Birgit Bührlé, from a photograph by Laurie Smaglick Johnson

Applications are sought to undertake a secondment under the ACAP Secondment Programme for the purpose of building capacity within Parties, and as a means of achieving tasks within the current work programmes of the Advisory Committee (see Annex 4 AC11 Report) and Secretariat (see Annex 5 AC11 Report).

Applications will only be accepted from ACAP Parties.  Applicants are encouraged to develop proposals that account for the practical challenges and limitations associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The proposed secondment should meet the following criteria:

1. The work to be undertaken addresses a task or tasks identified in the Advisory Committee’s or Secretariat’s Work Programme, and/or is deemed to be of high importance to achievement of the Agreement’s objective.
2. The work proposed is international in nature (i.e. the outcomes will be of relevance to more than one country).  However, this does not preclude secondments to a host institution within the applicant’s country of residence, provided the international relevance of the capacity building is clear.
3. The funds allocated will not be used for the purpose of paying applicants’ salaries.  It is expected that the applicant’s institution will continue to pay the applicant’s salary.  However, funds may be used to contract a suitable professional to develop/present a training webinar or online workshop.
4. The task to be undertaken has a capacity-building focus.
5. The funds allocated will generally be used for travel, accommodation and per diem costs, but can also be used for online training activities including one-on-one mentoring, enrolment in a training course from a reputable educational institution, organisation of webinars/online workshops, and other relevant activities which enhance ACAP capacity.
6. The applicant has received in-principle agreement from the host or collaborating institution to participate in this work.

Applicants are encouraged to contact the Working Group Convenors, the Advisory Committee Chair, Vice-chair, or the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to discuss their proposal.  Secondment Application Forms are available in all Agreement languages from the ACAP website.

Completed applications are to be submitted to relevant ACAP National Contacts who will then forward them to the ACAP Secretariat.

Applications containing all signatures and endorsements must be received by the Secretariat by close of business on Tuesday, 2 February 2021.  Applicants will be advised of the outcome of their application by Tuesday, 23 March 2021.

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Waved Albatrosses, Galapagos Islands, photograph by Antje Steinfurth

ACAP Secretariat, 18 November 2020

A colour-banded Antipodean Albatross displays on Antipodes Island, photograph by Kath Walker

The Endangered Antipodean Albatross or Toroa Diomedea antipodensis has made the second step of the podium in this year’s Bird of the Year competition (‘BOTY2020’).  Initially leading during the two-week voting period (with a record 55 000 votes received overall), following a spirited world-wide campaign it was pipped at the post once the preferential voting system was applied by the Kākāpō Strigops habroptila, New Zealand’s iconic flightless parrot (click here).  The Critically Endangered (but recovering) “moss chicken” previously won BOTY in 2008.  No albatross (or any procellariform seabird for that matter) has won the competition since its inception in 2005.

The Albatross for Bird of the Year #VoteToroa Facebook page which lobbied for the Antipodean Albatross remains upbeat despite its bird missing out on a gold medal: “the groundswell of support raised for toroa this year was absolutely incredible – a win would have just been a bonus.  A second place shows that people are becoming more and more aware of the dangers facing seabirds including longline fishing and marine pollution.”

Maybe next year?

Maybe next year an albatross can be on the winning step for the first time.  With “35 000 extra deaths” due to fisheries bycatch the Antipodean Albatross continues to need our support.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 17 November 2020

Vote Toroa!

“Vote for Antipodean albatrosses in Bird of the Year 2020 to help save the species”.  So says the Southern Seabird Solutions Trust in a media release this week.

It’s Bird of the Year (‘BOTY2020’) competition time again in New Zealand and with only one day left to go you can still vote for the Endangered Antipodean Albatross or Toroa Diomedea antipodensis.  Vote here by clicking "Pick me" on five bird photos in your order of preference.  Voting is open until 17h00 (New Zealand Standard Time), Sunday 15 November.

The trust continues in its release: “This magnificent bird is in grave danger of extinction from longline fishing, especially from fleets operating in waters beyond New Zealand's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).  The Department of Conservation has just released new estimates that show 35,000 Antipodean albatrosses have lost their lives since 2004.  More females than males are dying because they feed in the danger zones where there is intensive fishing.  A tragedy is unfolding on the breeding grounds - year after year so many male birds return to the island and wait at their nest for a mate who will never return.” says Janice Molloy, Convenor, Southern Seabirds.

“But it’s not too late to turn this around – the population can recover. And unlike many environmental problems this one has a solution. The challenge is getting the solutions used, and a groundswell of public interest will help convince fishers to make the effort.  If the Antipodean albatross wins Bird of the Year, we can honestly say to the fishing companies that Kiwis really care about this albatross.  A vote will make a real difference.”

Antipodean Albatross at sea off Kaikoura, photograph by Kerry-Jayne Wilson

Information from Janice Molloy, Convenor, Southern Seabirds.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 14 November 2020

“This massive dataset is the result of the work coordinated by the University of Barcelona since 2007, and will help develop marine protected areas and marine spatial planning © Universitat de Barcelona”

A consortium of 13 local and international organisations coordinated by BirdLife International has been surveying colonies of and at-sea tracking seven species of procellariiform seabirds that breed on islands of Cabo Verde some 600 km off the west coast of Africa.  One of these species, the endemic and Near Threatened Cape Verde Shearwater Calonectris edwardsii, has been shown to travel eastward to inshore waters off West Africa.  From the above map it is notable that practically all of the species’ at-sea yellow tracks fall within the 200-nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zones of Mauretania and Senegal, as well as of Cabo Verde itself.

A Cape Verde Shearwater at sea

“This means that, for the first time, we know where these birds are going to find their food and thus, plot where birds interact with fishing vessels”, explains Herculano de Andrade Dinis, the Executive Director of Projecto Vitó, a local NGOs who [sic] has been key in the research.”

Read more at “How Cabo Verde is becoming a safe haven for seabirds” and visit a website dedicated to Cabo Verde seabirds (in Portuguese).

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 13 November 2020