Last week U.S. President Barack Obama used his executive authority to sign a proclamation that expands the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monumentto  more than six times in size from that established in 2009 by former U.S. President George W. Bush (click here).

The expanded marine protected area now includes the 200-nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) around Johnston and Wake Atolls and Jarvis Island in the south-central Pacific Ocean – upped from the previous 50 nautical miles.  The monument is closed to commercial fishing.  The expansion is less than that originally proposed due to the concerns of commercial tuna fishing interests (click here).  The original extension proposal would have included the EEZ waters around Howland and Baker Islands, Kingman Reef and Palmyra Atoll.  Now the existing 50-nautical mile offshore protection zones within the monument around these localities will not change.  The area of the expanded monument is nearly 1.27 million km², up from Bush’s 199 500 km², but less than the over 2 million km² first proposed by Obama earlier this year.

Wake Atoll lies towards the edge of the current breeding range of the Laysan Albatross Phoebastria immutabilis.  A few pairs of Laysans have attempted breeding on the atoll in recent years with a chick successfully fledging in 2001 and two eggs, both unsuccessful, laid in 2013.  Black-footed Albatrosses P. nigripes also visit Wake in small numbers but successful breeding has not been reported although eggs have been laid occasionally.  Breeding by albatrosses on the other islands within the monument does not seem to have been reported - although both Black-foots and Laysans are listed as rare visitors to Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge (click here).

The 2001 Laysan Albatross chick on Wake Atoll, photograph by R. Wheeler

“The expanded Monument [includes] over 130 newly protected sea mounts, which are hotspots of biodiversity that harbor uncounted numbers of new and unique marine species.  The expansion will better protect the habitat of animals with large migration and foraging ranges that stretch throughout the area, including sea turtles, marine mammals, and manta rays.  The Monument is also home to millions of seabirds that forage over hundreds of miles and bring food back to their rookeries on the islands and atolls.  These birds serve as a conveyor belt of energy bringing nutrients caught at sea back into the near shore environment where they help sustain the ecosystems.

Commercial fishing and other resource extraction activities, such as deep sea mining, are banned in the Monument.  In recognition of the importance of encouraging and supporting access to federally managed areas, recreational and traditional fishing that is consistent with the conservation goals of the Monument will continue to be allowed in the expanded Monument.”

 “Previously, only about three percent of U.S. territorial waters were protected from commercial fishing, and 95 percent of that area was within the nearby Papahānaumokuākea National Monument, established by President Bush in 2006.” (click here).

With thanks to Mark Rauzon for information.

Selected Literature:

Rauzon, M.J., Boyle, D., Everett, W.T. & Gilardi, J. 2008.  The status of the birds of Wake Atoll.  Atoll Research Bulletin No. 561.  41 pp.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 30 September 2014

Steve Wing (Department of Marine Science, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand) and colleagues have published open access in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series on levels of iron in the guano of sub-Antarctic seabirds on New Zealand's Auckland Islands, including the ACAP-listed Northern Giant Petrel Macronectes halli.

The paper’s abstract follows:

"Biological vectors are important for redistribution of nutrients in many ecological systems.  While availability of iron (Fe) to phytoplankton limits pelagic productivity in the Southern Ocean, biomagnification within marine food webs can lead to high concentrations of Fe in the diet of seabirds and marine mammals.  We investigated patterns in concentrations of the micronutrients Fe, Co, Zn and Mn, and the toxins Cd and As, in the guano of oceanic, coastal and predatory seabirds and in faeces of 2 species of marine mammals that congregate to breed in the sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands. We found that much of the variability in concentrations of Fe, Co, Zn and Mn among species could be explained by foraging behaviour and by trophic position. We observed concentrations of Fe to be 8 orders of magnitude higher in the guano of predators and coastal foragers than in the sub-Antarctic mixed layer. High concentrations of As and Cd were associated with organic matter sources from macroalgae.  Analyses of the molar ratio Fe:Al indicated that Fe within food webs supporting seabirds has likely been extensively recycled from its lithogenic source.  Patterns in Fe:N among species indicated that Fe is concentrated 2 to 4 orders of magnitude in the guano of seabirds compared to limiting conditions for phytoplankton growth in sub-Antarctic waters.  These data highlight the potential role of seabirds and marine mammals in the redistribution of micronutrients in the Southern Ocean and their likely role as key nutrient vectors in the ecosystem, particularly around the sub-Antarctic islands during the breeding season.”

Northern Giant Petrel, photograph by Marienne de Villiers

Reference:

Wing, S.R., Jack, L., Shatova, O., Leichter, J.J., Barr, D., Frew, R.D. & Gault-Ringold, M. 2014.  Seabirds and marine mammals redistribute bioavailable iron in the Southern Ocean.  Marine Ecology Progress Series 510: 1-13.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 29 September 2014.

Yan Ropert-Coudert (Université de Strasbourg, Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, Strasbourg, France) and colleagues have written the chapter on sub-Antarctic and Antarctic birds and mammals in the Biogeographic Atlas of the Southern Ocean, newly published by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR).

The chapter consists of a series of maps and accompanying text describing the at-sea distributions based on sightings made from ships in the Southern Ocean of flying seabirds, penguins, seals and cetaceans.  Of ACAP-listed species eight taxa (some species pairs are lumped) of albatrosses, both giant petrels Macronectes spp. and White-chinned Procellaria aequinoctialis and Grey P. cinerea Petrels are included.

Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses, photograph by Aleks Terauds

With thanks to Richard Phillips for information.

Reference:

Ropert-Coudert, Y., Hindell, M.A., Phillips R.[A.], Charassin, J.B., Trudelle, L. & Raymond, B. 2014.  Chapter 8.  Biogeographic patterns of birds and mammals.  In: De Broyer, C., Koubbi, P., Griffiths, H.J., Raymond, B., Udekem d’Acoz, C.d.’, Van de Putte, A.P., Danis, B., David, B., Grant, S., Gutt, J., Held, C., Hosie, G., Huettmann, F., Post, A. & Ropert-Coudert, Y. (Eds.).  Biogeographic Atlas of the Southern Ocean.  Cambridge: Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research.  pp. 364-387.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 28 September 2014

The USA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has called for public comment on a proposal to make deployment of a bird-scaring line a requirement in its demersal longline fishery operating along the Pacific coasts of California, Oregon and Washington.

The summary of the notice in the Federal Register follows:

“This proposed rule would implement a Seabird Avoidance Program in the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery.  The proposed rule was recommended by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) in November 2013 and is specifically designed to minimize the take of ESA-listed short-tailed albatross (Phoebastria albatrus).  A 2012 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Biological Opinion required NMFS to initiate implementation of regulations within 2 years mandating the use of seabird avoidance measures by vessels greater than or equal to 55 feet length overall (LOA) using bottom longline gear to harvest groundfish.  The seabird avoidance measures, including streamer lines that deter birds from ingesting baited hooks, are modeled after a similar regulatory program in effect for the Alaskan groundfish fishery.”

Short-tailed Albatross at sea, photograph by Aleks Terauds

Click here to read the full account

Comments on the proposed rule must be received on or before 9 October 2014.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 27 September 2014