Kath Walker and Graeme Elliott of Albatross Research have produced a report for the December meeting of New Zealand Department of Conservation’s Conservation Services Programme that shows that since 2004 the population of ACAP-isted and Vulnerable Antipodean Albatrosses Diomedea antipodensis on Antipodes Island has been “on an alarmingly steady decline and it is now smaller than it was in 1994.  Furthermore throughout the period of this decline, the females have been declining at a faster rate (10% per annum) than the males (5%), and there is now a wildly skewed sex imbalance on the breeding grounds.”

Th authors recommend three research activities to ascertain reason(s) for the decline:

“1. The population monitoring needs to continue, and in a more detailed fashion.  We have been funding the monitoring since 2005 but are running out of resources.

2. Effort needs to be put into investigating changes in oceanic conditions that might be contributing to this decline.

3. Effort needs to be put into investigating fisheries by-catch of female Antipodean wandering albatrosses, both inside and outside the New Zealand EEZ.”

An Antipodean Albatross pair at the Antipodes Island, photograph by Colin O'Donnell

Reference:

Walker, K. & Elliott, G. 2015.  Antipodean Wandering Albatross decline.  Report prepared for Department of Conservation.  [Nelson]: Albatross Research.  2 pp.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 30 December 2015

The Sooty Shearwater Puffinus (Ardenna) griseus is almost extinct on the mainland of New Zealand.  A small breeding group can be found near a colony of New Zealand Fur Seals Arctocephalus forsteri at Cape Foulwind on the west coast of New Zealand’s South Island.  This colony, which is close to a walkway, is being monitored by the West Coast Penguin Trust.  A predator trap line helps to protect the shearwaters from Stoats Mustela erminea and taped calls are played through speakers to attract them.

On 21 December this year the trust carried out its annual check; 12 burrows were occupied by shearwaters with nine containing incubating birds, similar to the previous year’s census of 10 incubators.  “Unlike last year, virtually all other suitable burrows showed signs of recent use by shearwaters so although numbers breeding have not increased, the number of shearwaters visiting the colony have, which is very encouraging.”

In the hour after dusk between November and April the public can view Sooty Shearwaters circling overhead at Cape Foulwind from the walkway before the birds crash-land in the flax and enter their burrows.

Sooty Shearwater, photograph courtesy of the West Coast Penguin Trust

The West Coast Penguin Trust is a charitable trust that aims to conserve penguins and other threatened seabirds and their habitat on the west coast of New Zealand’s South Island.  The Trust raises funds, conducts research and implements practical projects relating to penguins in particular, as well as to other birds subject to similar threats.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 29 December 2015

BirdLife International’s Marine Programme has produced an eight-minute video with a sound track in Taiwanese that is addressed to skippers and crew of longline vessels, highlighting the issue of seabird bycatch and describing the simple and effective measures that can be taken to minimise fishing impacts on seabird populations.

According to BirdLife, Taiwan has over 300 large-scale and 1000 small-scale tuna longline vessels, making it one of the world leaders in longline fishing.

Mayumi Sato, BirdLife Marine Programme Asia Coordinator states:

"So far we have had a very positive engagement with the Taiwanese Fisheries Agency and industry groups on seabird bycatch.  Videos such as this help us and our partners explain both the threats and solutions directly to fishers and fisheries officials.  We hope that we can continue to expand our work with Taiwanese fleets to increase the uptake of seabird mitigation measures and work collaboratively to save albatrosses.”

The video has also been produced in English, with more language versions planned.

A bird-scaring line deployed with streamers flapping, photograph by Vero Cortes 

BirdLife received funding from the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation towards the making of the video.  Read more here.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 28 December 2015

Dario Capizzi (Latium Region—Regional Park Agency, Rome, Italy) and colleagues have published in a book on problematic wildlife showing that breeding success of Scopoli’s Calonectris diomedea and Yelkouan Puffinus yelkouan Shearwaters increases after eradication of Black Rats Rattus rattus on Italian islands in the Mediterranean.  The latter species has been identified as a potential candidate for listing within the Agreement.

The chapter’s abstract follows

“The black rat (Rattus rattus) is thought to be the most widespread mammal on Mediterranean islands.  In recent years, many field studies have documented its detrimental impact on native species, communities and ecosystems.  In order to restore island ecosystems by eliminating the impacts of black rat, several projects have been planned and implemented during the last 15 years on Italian islands.  Although these projects were specifically aimed at protecting nesting shearwaters Calonectris diomedea and Puffinus yelkouan from rat predation, they were also planned in order to provide benefits to other island ecosystem components, species and communities.  Rats were eradicated from small islands (about 1 ha of surface) to very large islands (over 1000 ha, i.e. Montecristo).  Monitoring programmes showed that shearwater reproductive success increased after rat eradication.  During these years, we obtained data on different aspects related to the problem of rat impact and control on islands: (1) rat impact on target species; (2) benefits for native species from rat removal; (3) field techniques and bait delivery methods; (4) impact of rodenticides on non-target species; (5) rat abundance, home range and movements and (6) rat reinvasion after eradication.  Furthermore, we developed a model aimed at identifying priority islands where rat eradication should be carried out, and/or establish recommended actions.”

Scopoli's Shearwater fledgling 

Reference:

Capizzi, D., Baccetti, N. & Sposimo, P. 2016. Fifteen years of rat eradication on Italian islands.  In: Angelici, F.M. (Ed.).  Problematic Wildlife.  A Cross-Disciplinary Approach.  Berlin: Springer International Publishing.  pp 205-227.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 27 December 2015