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Birds and bones: ACAP delegates have a day off in Wellington before adopting the Advisory Committee report

Delegates to the Albatross and Petrel Agreement's 10th Meeting of its Advisory Committee (AC10) being held in Wellington, New Zealand had a welcome day off from meeting discussions yesterday.

In the morning we visited the Zealandia Eco-sanctuary in the hills above Wellington. The sanctuary is encircled by a predator-proof fence to keep out feral cats, rodents and Common Brushtail Possums Trichosurus vulpecula and now supports a number of species of reintroduced land birds among regenerating forest. Good views of the Kākā Nestor meridionalis, a New Zealand endemic parrot, at feeders kept the cameras going. The guided tour was followed by a pleasant buffet lunch in the sanctuary’s restaurant.

Zealandia's anti-predator fence is very similar to that erected in 2011 to protect Laysan Albatrosses Phoebastria immutabilis (ACAP listed) and Wedge-tailed Shearwaters Ardenna pacifica at Kaena Point on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.

Zealandia's anti-predator fence; Richard Phillips (UK) and Joseph Fette (USA) in conversation

USA observer to ACAP, Beth Flint from Hawaii checks her bag, before entering the sanctuary

Mamaku or Black Tree Ferns Cyathea medullaris overhead

 In the afternoon we headed to the collections facility of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Our museum hosts, Colin Miskelly, Alan Tennyson and Susan Waugh had set out a table of procellariiform study skins for us to view that included ACAP-listed great albatrosses and smaller mollymawks, as well as all seven prion species, including the recently described (and globally Endangered) MacGillivray’s Prion Pachyptila macgillivrayi from Gough Island.

AC10 Delegates view a table of procellariiform skins at Te Papa, including ACAP-listed albatrosses and petrels

All seven prion species in a row; McGillivray's is second from the right

Quorum?  ACAP Taxonomy Working Group members Mark Tasker and Alan Tennyson consider which is a Shy and which a White-capped Albatross with Colin Miskelly

Highlights of the tour included being shown bones of extinct New Zealand moas (Dinornithiformes), a skull and claw of a Haast’s Eagle Harpagornis moorei (once the world’s largest eagle) and, unexpectedly, elephant bird Aepyornis bones from Madagascar.

Today the Advisory Committee report will be adopted, closing two weeks of meetings. Then home from us all!  However, I first fly to Great Barrier Island tomorrow to visit the breeding site of the ACAP-listed and globally Vulnerable Black Petrel Procellaria parkinsoni.  Looking forward to it.

With thanks to Igor Debski, Department of Conservation and Colin Miskelly, Alan Tennyson and Susan Waugh, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 15 September 2017

ACAP delegates meet New Zealand’s Governor-General at a Forest & Bird function

Tuesday evening this week delegates to the Albatross and Petrel Agreement's 10th Meeting of its Advisory Committee (AC10) being held in Wellington, New Zealand attended a function to celebrate New Zealand's role as the seabird capital of the world. The evening function was hosted by the Royal Forest & Bird Protection Society, New Zealand's BirdLife national partner in its National Office in Wellington.

The country's 21st Governor-General, Her Excellency The Right Honourable Dame Patsy Reddy, accompanied by her husband Sir David Gascoigne, attended and addressed the gathering. Their Excellencies, the Ambassadors of Argentina, Fausto Lopez Crozet; Brazil, Paulo Cesar de Camargo; and of Chile, Rodrigo Espinosa, all from countries which are Parties to ACAP, were also present, as was the Director-General of the New Zealand Department of Conservation, Lou Sanson.

The Governor-General, Her Excellency The Right Honourable Dame Patsy Reddy addresses the ACAP Delegates and other guests

From left: Karen Baird and Kevin Hague (Forest & Bird), Her Excellency the Governor-General The Right Honourable Dame Patsy Reddy and Sir David Gascoigne, Marco Favero (ACAP Executive Secretary) and Nathan Walker (ACAP Advisory Committee Chairperson)

Following her address which mentioned the country’s ongoing efforts to conserve its albatrosses and petrels, especially in relation to control and eradication of invasive predators, the ACAP Advisory Committee Chair Nathan Walker gave a speech in reply. He then presented the Governor-General with a framed photograph of a globally Vulnerable Antipodean Albatross Diomedea antipodensis, taken by Karen Baird.

ACAP Delegates listen to the Governor-General at Forest & Bird's National Office

With thanks to Kevin Hague, Chief Executive and Karen Baird and Geoffrey Keey of Forest & Bird for hosting the function and to Mark Tasker for the photographs.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 14 September 2017

ACAP attends Southern Seabirds Solutions Trust award evening in Wellington’s museum Te Papa

Delegates to ACAP's 10th Advisory Committee (AC10) meeting in Wellington, New Zealand attended a awards ceremony of the Southern Seabirds Solutions Trust (SSST) in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa on Monday evening. The biennial awards recognise commercial and recreational fishers who are committed to looking after New Zealand seabirds. The winners were announced by Conservation Minister Maggie Barry at Te Papa following her address who mentioned New Zealand’s intentions to rid sub-Antarctic Auckland Island of its feral pigs and cats by 2025 (click here).

Altair Fishing Ltd won the 2017 Seabird Smart Award for measures to protect seabirds across its fleet of tuna vessels, including using bird-scaring lines, setting fishing lines at night, adding weights to make bait sink quickly and dying bait to make it less visible to birds.

The Special Innovation Award was given to Gavin Heineman for re-engineering his 13.7-m vessel Echo to include an aluminium chute used to discard the guts and heads of fish, thus making them less accessible to seabirds.

Spectacular entrance to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa's Te Marae (meeting house)

New Zealand's Conservation Minister Maggie Barry (right) with some of the award winners

Read more here.

While attending the evening function John Cooper (ACAP Information Officer) and Mark Tasker (UK) were pleased to meet up again with Bill Mansfield, SSST Chairperson, who had chaired ACAP’s Second Meeting of the Parties (MoP2) held in Christchurch, New Zealand in November 2006.

Last men standing: John Cooper (ACAP Information Officer), Bill Mansfield (Southern Seabird Solutions Trust Chairperson) and Mark Tasker (Past ACAP Advisory Committee Chair). All three were at the Second Meeting of the ACAP Parties (MoP2) held in Christchurch, New Zealand in November 2006 with Bill in the Chair

Where's my tie? Hannah Nevins (American Bird Conservancy),  Chris Robertson and John Cooper

Also good to renew a long-time friendship with New Zealand's legendary albatross researcher, Chris Robertson.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 13 September 2017

ACAP’s 10th Meeting of its Advisory Committee starts in Wellington, New Zealand

Following meetings of the ACAP Seabird Bycatch (SBWG8) and the Population and Conservation Status Working Groups (PaCSWG4) last week in Wellington, New Zealand, this week it is the turn of the Advisory Committee. Ten of the 13 Parties to the Agreement are attending the 2017 session that will last through to Friday.

The 10th Meeting of the Advisory Committee (AC10) started its work on Monday with a welcome from Ian Angus, Acting Director: Aquatic of New Zealand’s Department of Conservation.  In his address he drew attention to the large number of ACAP-listed albatross and petrel species that breed within New Zealand, several of which are endemics.

During the meeting reports were made by observers in attendance, including Namibia and the USA (interested non-Parties) and three international NGOs (American Bird Conservancy, BirdLife International and Humane Society International). Namibia reported that it expected to become a Party to the Agreement in the near future, news welcomed by the AC10 Delegates.

 Meeting Documents and Information Papers (which include Implementation Reports by Parties) being considered at AC10 are available online on this website.

Ian Angus (right) addesses the delegates, with Tatiana Neves (Advisory Committee Vice Chair) and Nathan Walker (Advisory Committee Chair) in attendence

From left: Ian Angus (Department of Conservation), Tatiana Neves, Mark Tasker (past AC Chair), Marco Favero (ACAP Executive Secretary) and Nathan Walker

AC10 Delegates smile for the camera:  from left Anton Wolfaardt (UK),  Aixa Rodriguz Avendaño & Sergio Alejandro Rojo (both Argentina) and Richard Phillips (UK)

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 12 September 2017

The Agreement on the
Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels

ACAP is a multilateral agreement which seeks to conserve listed albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters by coordinating international activity to mitigate known threats to their populations.

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