--- title: "2013 News Archive" --- # 2013 News Archive ## At-sea tracking shows fledgling Black-footed Albatrosses from Midway Atoll forage apart from adults Writing in the ornithological journal [*Ibis*](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1474-919X), Sarah Gutowsky ([Department of Biology, Dalhousie University](http://biology.dal.ca/), Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) and colleagues report on at-sea tracking of both fledgling and adult Black-footed Albatrosses *Phoebastria nigripes*. The paper’s abstract follows “Past tracking studies of marine animals have primarily targeted adults, biasing our understanding of at-sea habitat use toward older life stages.  Anthropogenic threats persist throughout the at-sea ranges of all life stages and it is therefore of interest to population ecologists and managers alike to understand spatiotemporal distributions and possible niche differentiation between age-classes.  In albatrosses, particularly little is known about the juvenile life stage when fledglings depart the colonies and venture to sea with no prior experience or parental guidance.  We compared the dispersal of 22 fledgling Black-footed Albatross *Phoebastria nigripes* between 2006 and 2008 using satellite telemetry and 16 adults between 2008 and 2009 using geolocaters from Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, Northwest Hawaiian Islands.  Following tag deployment, all fledglings spent several days within the calm atoll waters, then travelled northward until reaching 750–900 km from the colony. At this point, fledgling distributions approached the productive North Pacific Transition Zone (NPTZ).  Rather than reaching the high chlorophyll a densities on the leading edge of this zone, however, fledglings remained in areas of low productivity in the subtropical gyre.  In contrast, adult albatrosses from the same breeding colony did not utilize the NPTZ at this time of year but rather ranged throughout the highly productive northern periphery of the Pacific Ocean Basin among the shelf regions off Japan and the Aleutian Islands.  The dichotomy in habitat use between fledglings and adults from Midway Atoll results in complete spatial segregation between age-classes and suggests ontogenetic niche separation in this species. This research fills a large knowledge gap in at-sea habitat use during a little known yet critical life stage of albatrosses, and contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of differential mortality pressure between age-classes and overall conservation status for the vulnerable Black-footed Albatross.” ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/B/Black_footed/Black_footed_Albatross2_by_Aleks_Terauds_small.jpg.jpg) Black-footed Albatross at sea, photograph by Aleks Terauds With thanks to Barry Baker for information. **Reference:** Gutowsky, S.E., Tremblay, Y., Kappes, M.A., Flint, E.N., Klavitter, J., Laniawe, L., Costa, D.P., Naughton, M.B., Romano, M.D. & Shaffer, S.A. 2014.  Divergent post-breeding distribution and habitat associations of fledgling and adult Black-footed Albatrosses *Phoebastria nigripes* in the North Pacific.  [*Ibis* 156: 60-72](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ibi.12119/abstract). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 31 December 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/at-sea-tracking-shows-fledgling-black-footed-albatrosses-from-midway-atoll-forage-apart-from-adults.md) ## Lucky Chick. A Wandering Albatross gets rescued from a hole in the South Atlantic The following account by field researcher Stephanie Winnard of a [Vulnerable](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3952) Wandering Albatross *Diomedea exulans* chick being rescued from a hole in the ground on Bird Island, South Georgia (Islas Georgias del Sur)* in the South Atlantic makes a good-news story for year end.  The source is the [South Georgia Newsletter](http://www.sgisland.gs/index.php/(h)South_Georgia_News_and_Events) for November 2013. She also reports on Bird Island’s declining population of Wanderers. “As part of the long term monitoring programme on Bird Island, the wandering albatross chicks are visited once a month to monitor breeding success. The monthly check in July proved more eventful than normal as one chick seemed to be missing. The bird had left its nest and fallen down a hole that was around a meter deep; it had become completely wedged in and soil had fallen on top of it so that all was visible was its head. After digging it free, an exhausted, mud-covered chick was eventually pulled out and returned to its nest." ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/W/Wandering/Wanderer rescued chick before s.jpg)  Looking worse for wear, the Wanderer chick was dug out of the hole and returned to the nest "At first one leg seemed injured but a few visits later the chick was sitting up again as normal, with little obvious permanent damage. Without the rescue the chick would surely have died because its parents would not have been likely to find it to feed it. Hopefully it will fledge in November or December with the rest of the 2013 cohort. Every chick is vitally important as the wandering albatross is now classified as vulnerable." ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/W/Wandering/Wanderer rescued chick after s.jpg)  The lucky chick fully recovered "The Bird Island population has been monitored since 1958, and has shown a continual decrease in numbers. In 1972 there were 1582 pairs of breeding adults on the island, this year there were only 748 pairs, a reduction of 47% in 41 years. Hopefully chick 4007001 will not fall victim to a fishing hook and will return in a few years to breed.” *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 30 December 2013* *A dispute exists between the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (Islas Georgias del Sur y Islas Sandwich del Sur) and the surrounding maritime areas. [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/lucky-chick-a-wandering-albatross-gets-rescued-from-a-hole-in-the-south-atlantic.md) ## Good for albatrosses and petrels: yet another Patagonian Toothfish fishery approved for Marine Stewardship Council certification The fishery for Patagonian Toothfish *Dissostichus eleginoides* around the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)* has been recommended for certification by the [Marine Stewardship Council](http://www.msc.org). “Following a 30-day period of comment on the [Draft Report](http://www.msc.org/track-a-fishery/fisheries-in-the-program/in-assessment/south-atlantic/falkland_island_toothfish/assessment-downloads-1/20131205_FR_V2_TOO370.pdf) for the Falkland Island toothfish fishery, the Conformity Assessment Body, [Intertek Moody Marine](http://www.moodyint.com/mcs-marine.htm), has met to consider the report of the assessment team, the report of the Peer Review panel and all stakeholder comments.  The Determination reached by the certification body is that the Falkland Island toothfish fishery should be certified in accordance with the MSC Standard.  Please note that this is a determination, not a final certification result.  This fishery is therefore not yet certified, nor is it able to use the MSC ecolabel on any products.  Any intent to file an objection should first be addressed to the Independent Adjudicator care of the MSC's Chief Executive, Mr Rupert Howes at the email address[objections@msc.org](mailto:objections@msc.org), by 30 December 2013.” ([click here](http://www.msc.org/track-a-fishery/fisheries-in-the-program/in-assessment/south-atlantic/falkland_island_toothfish)). The fishery takes place by longline in the south-west Atlantic in FAO Area 41.  In 2010 the fishery caught 943 tonnes; the 2011 catch was 1220 mt.  The final report by Intertek Moody Marine states that “[m]anagement measures include bird scaring devices, night-setting of lines, line weighting, use of only thawed bait, careful management of offal discharge, removal of hooks from offal and bycatch and use of the ‘Brickle curtain’ to deter birds from bait during hauling.  The use of the Chilean ‘umbrella’ hook system also significantly discourages interactions with seabirds and marine mammals”. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Mitigation/Fact_Sheet_04_Fig2.jpg) Once formally certified, the fishery will join five others that go after toothfish by trawl or longline  in the Southern Ocean and that have been approved as considred to be environmentally (and seabird) friendly by the Marine Stewardship Council ([click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1540-grey-petrels-set-to-benefit-from-the-marine-stewardship-s-latest-longline-certification-in-the-southern-ocean)). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 29 December 2013* *A dispute exists between the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (Islas Georgias del Sur y Islas Sandwich del Sur) and the surrounding maritime areas. [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/good-for-albatrosses-and-petrels-yet-another-patagonian-toothfish-fishery-approved-for-marine-stewardship-council-certification.md) ## So how many albatrosses and petrels are out there? The ACAP Data Portal can tell you The [ACAP Data Portal](https://data.acap.aq/) is a gateway to the underlying data that support the work of the Agreement.  The public, non-password protected part of the portal gives information on species, breeding localities (mainly named islands), most recent population censuses and population trends. By searching on sites you can find out which ACAP-listed species breed.  For instance, by entering Gough Island a table will name the five ACAP-listed species that currently breed.  Delving deeper by clicking on the species name will tell you where else it breeds.  For example you will learn that the Tristan Albatross *Diomedea dabbenena* also breeds on Inaccessible Island. By clicking on the locality name in the species table you are informed that the most recent breeding population of Tristan Albatrosses on Gough was 1747 pairs in 2013 and that the population trend has been downward over the period 2001 to 2010. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/T/Tristan/Tristan_Albatross_by_Ross_Wanless_and_Andrea_Angel.jpg) A Critically Endangered Tristan Albatross guards its chick on Gough Island Photograph by Andrea Angel and Ross Wanless The data portal also gives information on the jurisdictions or Regional Fisheries Management Organizations ([RFMOs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regional_fisheries_management_organisation)) that either overlap with breeding sites or with the foraging range of a species, based on information provided by the [BirdLife Global Procellariiform Tracking Database](http://www.seabirdtracking.org/).  From this we can learn that the Tristan Albatross has been recorded within the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of five countries that are Parties to ACAP (Australia, Brazil, South Africa, United Kingdom and Uruguay) and of three countries that are not currently a Party to ACAP: Angola, Mozambique and Namibia. Information on threats can also be found.  Again as an example, the portal tells us that the main threat facing Tristan Albatrosses on Gough is the House Mouse *Mus musculus*. A second source of data available on the ACAP web site is the ACAP Species Assessments.  These contain the most recent scientific information regarding the 30 albatross, petrel and shearwater species currently listed under the Agreement.  The assessments provide data on each species' population status and trends, their distribution, the threats they face both at breeding sites and at sea, as well as the conservation measures that are in place to protect them.  [Click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/acap-species) for a listing. The Species Assessments are due to be updated during the first half of next year ([click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1506-acap-species-assessments-to-be-updated)). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 27 December 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/so-how-many-albatrosses-and-petrels-are-out-there-the-acap-data-portal-can-tell-you.md) ## Review: “Birds & People”, a book of the World’s bird families by Mark Cocker and David Tipling Mark Cocker (author) and David Tipling (photographer) have produced a remarkable book between them.  Birds & People considers the 200 or so bird families of the World in nearly 600 pages, giving each a lavish, well-illustrated account.  The approach, unique to my knowledge (and I was once in charge of the University of Cape Town’s [Niven Library](http://www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za/docs/niven.html), one of the World’s great ornithological collections and surely the most comprehensive in the Southern Hemisphere) is to “explore the common ground where [humans and birds] meet”.  The Introduction gives the clue.  “It is about how people’s lives are entwined with, and are often shaped by, their encounters with birds”. With so many families to cover, how does the book treat the families within the tubenose order Procellariiformes, the albatrosses, petrels and their kin?  Quite well: the albatross family Diomedeidae gets six pages.  One of these is a beautiful full-page photograph of an [ACAP-listed](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/resources/acap-species2) and [Near Threatened](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3971)Light-mantled Albatross *Phoebetria palpebrata* in flight; I had to look at it twice to see it was not a painting.  The text considers how the albatrosses got their name: a complicated descendant from the Arabic for water-carrier via the Spanish for a pelican with its large pouch. Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner gets a detailed treatment.  Coleridge was friends with fellow-poet William Wordsworth and it may be that Wordsworth when suggesting bringing an albatross into the poem, lent Coleridge a sea captain’s book that he owned - in which the shooting of a “disconsolate black Albitross” in the “Great South Sea” in the hope of gaining a fair wind is described.  So, was Coleridge’s albatross a *Phoebetria* sooty? ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/L/Light_mantled/Light-mantled Albatrosses Macquarie Aleks Terauds.jpg) Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses fly in unison Photograph by Aleks Terauds The second half of the albatross account deals mainly with the modern at-sea mortality from fishing, especially long-lining. Cocker writes: [p]erhaps by managing somehow to organize ourselves, and to redesign our fisheries to shorten the odds for survival of the world’s albatrosses, we can simultaneously redeem some of the long dreary past in our relations with these remarkable and charismatic sea creatures.”  This could stand to describe pretty closely what the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels is attempting to do. The petrel and shearwater family Procellariidae (five pages), storm petrels Hydrobatidae (three pages) and diving petrels Pelecanoididae (only a third of page) follow to complete the tubenose coverage.  The seemingly supernatural night-time calls of [Endangered](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3910) Bermuda Petrels or Cahows *Pterodroma cahow* were “so unnerving to Spanish sailors that they refused to settle such a haunted landscape”.  Cocker wonders if this had anything to do with another myth: that of the Bermuda Triangle as a “zone of occult mystery and nautical mishap”.  There is also a good account of the historical exploitation (I consider “harvesting” in this context to be a [weasel word](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weasel_word) and so refuse to use it) of Cory’s Shearwaters *Calonectris borealis *in Madeira.  One had to bite the chick’s neck to kill it and the plucked feathers ended up stuffing English eiderdowns! I was pleased to see the recently rediscovered and [Critically Endangered](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=30105) New Zealand Storm Petrel *Oceanites maorianus* featured (and illustrated) not only as a good-news story but because I well remember risking sea sickness in 2010 to see several behind our bobbing vessel in the Hauraki Gulf. This is book to dip into, perhaps to read in the evening the account of a family for which you have that day seen a member.  I shall take all 2.5 kg of it with me on my next voyage into the Southern Ocean and expect it to help while away many a happy hour when the Roaring Forties keep me bunk-bound. **Reference:** Cocker, Mark & Tipling, David 2013.  *Birds & People*.  London: Jonathan Cape.  592 pp.  ISBN 9780224081740.  GBP 40.00.  [http://www.vintage-books.co.uk/books/0224081748/mark-cocker/birds-and-people/](http://www.vintage-books.co.uk/books/0224081748/mark-cocker/birds-and-people/). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 28 December 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/review-birds-people-a-book-of-the-world-s-bird-families-by-mark-cocker-and-david-tipling.md) ## Radio New Zealand National discusses albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters with field researchers Radio New Zealand National discusses albatrosses and petrels with researchers in the field in its series **Birds on Our Changing World** ([click here](http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ourchangingworld/collections/birdsocw/seaandshore)). Listen to a radio interview explaining research being conducted on a declining population of Antipodean (Gibson’s) Albatrosses *Diomedea antipodensis gibsoni* on [Adams Island](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1599-acap-breeding-site-no-58-adams-island-auckland-islands-home-of-the-antipodean-albatross) in New Zealand’s Auckland Islands ([click here)](http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/2564159). ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/A/Antipodean/Antipodean Albatross pair Adams Island Colin ODonnell s.jpg) Antipodean Albatrosses on Adams Island, photograph by Colin O'Donnell Others taxa covered in interviews lasting from 12 to 26 minutes include the rediscovery of the Magenta Petrel or Taiko *Pterodroma magentae*, Chatham Petrels *P. axillaris*, wrecks of prions *Pachyptila* spp., fishing-related mortality of White-capped Albatrosses *Thalassarche steadi*, Southern Royal Albatrosses *D. epomophora* on [Campbell Island](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1326-acap-breeding-sites-no-12-campbell-island-new-zealand-supports-nine-acap-listed-albatrosses-and-petrels), Sooty Shearwaters *Puffinus griseus* on Mana Island, fortunes of a translocated Fluttering Shearwater *P. gavia* colony on Matiu-Somes Island in Wellington Harbour and on Great-winged (Grey-faced) Petrels *P. macroptera gouldi* threatened by rodents on Goat Island. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 25 December 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/radio-new-zealand-national-discusses-albatrosses-petrels-and-shearwaters-with-field-researchers.md) ## ACAP Breeding Site No. 59. Kuaokala Game Management Area where Laysan Albatrosses breed at altitude The Kuaokala Game Management Area (GMA) supports a small colony of [Near Threatened](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3958) Laysan Albatrosses *Phoebastria immutabilis* that breed at around 500 m in elevation in an invasive Ironwood *Casuarina equisetifolia* forest on the Hawaiian island of [Oahu](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oahu).  The state-managed Kuaokala GMA forms part of the Mokuleia Forest Reserve. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/L/Laysan/Kuaokala Lindsay Young s.jpg)![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/L/Laysan/Layan Albatrosses Kuaokala Lindsay Young s.jpg) ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/L/Laysan/Layan Albatross Kuaokala Lindsay Young s.jpg)  The colony is located approximately eight kilometres east of the [Kaena Point Natural Area Reserve](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1333-acap-breeding-sites-no-14-kaena-point-oahu-hawaii-protects-its-laysan-albatrosses-and-wedge-tailed-shearwaters-behind-a-predator-proof-fence) and its protected colony of Laysan Albatrosses.  Many of its banded birds are regularly seen at both colonies.  Banding at Kuaokala commenced in 1992. Annual monitoring has been taking place since 2004 by [Pacific Rim Conservation](http://www.pacificrimconservation.com).  Every year some 25 to 35 pairs of Laysan Albatrosses breed at the locality, often using fallen needles from the Ironwood trees (which are abundant on [Midway Atoll](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1434-acap-breeding-site-no-36-midway-atoll-black-footed-laysan-and-short-tailed-albatrosses-within-a-world-heritage-site)) to build their nests. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/L/Laysan/Layan Albatross chick Kuaokala Lindsay Young s.jpg)  Because the colony falls within a [hunting area](http://www.state.hi.us/dlnr/dofaw/hunting/MammalHuntingRegs_Chap123.pdf), a 530-m long four-foot (1.2 m) high fence encloses an area of 2.2 ha to prevent domestic dogs *Canis familiaris* and feral pigs*Sus scrofa domesticus* from entering.  However, the birds are still vulnerable to smaller alien predators such as feral cats *Felis catus* and Small Indian Mongoose *Herpestes auropunctatus*.  A [permit](http://www.state.hi.us/dlnr/dofaw/pubs/Application_to_Hike_Kuaokala_Schofield%20Waikane.pdf) is required to gain access from the [State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources](http://www.state.hi.us/dlnr/docare/). The entire colony’s 15 chicks and six eggs recorded earlier in the season disappeared under suspicious circumstances in 2009, probably as a result of human disturbance as the fence was found to be intact and no bird carcasses, feathers or other remains were found ([click here](http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2009/Mar/30/ln/hawaii903300334.html)).  An investigation failed to turn up the perpetrators ([click here](http://www.honolulumagazine.com/Honolulu-Magazine/June-2009/What-Happened-to-the-Birds/)). The Kuaokala colony contains the highest breeding population of Laysan Albatrosses in the World.  It is hoped that it will expand since birds breeding at this elevation will remain well protected against any expected sea level rise. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/L/Laysan/Laysans displaying Kuaokala Lindsay Young s.jpg) Photographs by Lindsay Young. **Selected references:** Arata, J.A., Sievert, P.R. & Naughton, M.B. 2009.  [Status Assessment of Laysan and Black-footed Albatrosses, North Pacific Ocean, 1923-2000](http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2009/5131/pdf/sir20095131.pdf).  U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5131.  Reston: U.S. Geological Survey. Naughton, M.B., Romano, M.D. & Zimmerman, T.S. 2007.  [A Conservation Action Plan for Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) and Laysan Albatross (P. immutabilis).  Version 1.0](http://www.fws.gov/pacific/migratorybirds/Albatross%20Action%20Plan%20ver.1.0.pdf). Pyle, R.L. & Pyle, P. 2009.  *The Birds of the Hawaiian Islands: Occurrence, History, Distribution, and Status*.  Honolulu: B.P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu. [http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/birds/rlp-monograph/](http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/birds/rlp-monograph/) Vanderwerf, E.A. 2012.  [Albatrosses](http://www.pacificrimconservation.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Albatrosses.pdf).  In:  *Hawaiian Bird Conservation Action Plan*.  Honolulu: Pacific Rim Conservation.  11 pp. Young, L.C. & Vanderwerf, E.A. 2008.  Prevalence of avian pox virus and effect on the fledging success of Laysan Albatross.  [Journal of Field Ornithology ](http://www.pacificrimconservation.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/56%20Young%20and%20VanderWerf%202008%20LAAL%20Avian%20Pox.pdf)[79: 93-98](http://www.pacificrimconservation.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/56%20Young%20and%20VanderWerf%202008%20LAAL%20Avian%20Pox.pdf). Young, L.C., VanderWerf, E.A., Smith, D.G., Polhemus, J., Swenson, N., Swenson, C., Liesemeyer, B.R., Gagne, B.H. & Conant, S. 2009.  Demography and natural history of Laysan Albatross on Oahu, Hawaii.  [*Wilson Journal of Ornithology*](http://www.pacificrimconservation.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/64.pdf)[ ](http://www.pacificrimconservation.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/64.pdf)[121: 722-729](http://www.pacificrimconservation.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/64.pdf). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer & Lindsay Young ACAP North Pacific News Correspondent, 26 December 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/acap-breeding-site-no-60-kuaokala-game-management-area-where-laysan-albatrosses-breed-at-altitude.md) ## UPDATED ACAP Breeding Site No. 58. Lehua Island, Hawaii supports Black-footed and Laysan Albatrosses [Lehua](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lehua) is a small, crescent-shaped island situated a kilometre north of [Niʻihau](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niihau) and west of [Kauai](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kauai) in the USA’s Hawaiian Islands.  The uninhabited 126-ha island is an eroded [tuff cone](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuff_cone). ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Lehua from air.jpg) ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Lehua view Eric Vanderwerf s.jpg)  ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Lehua landscape Eric Vanderwerf s.jpg) Views of Lehua Island, bottom two photographs by Eric Vanderwerf Lehua is protected as a Hawaii State Seabird Sanctuary managed by the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources ([HIDLNR](http://www.state.hi.us/dlnr/docare/)) ([click here](http://www.islandconservation.org/where/?id=62)).  It is owned by the [U.S. Coast Guard](http://www.uscg.mil/) which maintains a navigational light on the island’s highest point  Unsupervised landings on the shoreline only are allowed but access to the island’s interior requires a permit. The island has been designated an Important Bird Area ([IBA No. H102](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sitefactsheet.php?id=29913)) by BirdLife International. ACAP-listed Black-footed *Phoebastria nigripes* and Laysan *P. immutabilis* Albatrosses have bred in small numbers on Lehua since at least 2002.  In 2011/2012 89 Laysan and 32 Black-footed Albatrosses were counted in an island-wide census conducted in December 2011, with 45 Laysan and 20 Black-footed chicks counted the following May.  In 2012/13 equivalent censuses yielded only 14 Laysan and 19 Black-footed Albatrosses in January, with six Laysan and five Black-footed Albatross chicks remaining by the time of the follow-up survey in May of the same year. Eight to 16 Black-footed and nine to 28 Laysan Albatross chicks were present over the period 2002-2005 on the western end of the inner slope 20–100 m below the summit ([click here](http://www.pacificrimconservation.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/47%20Vanderwerf%20etal%202007%20LehuaIslet%20PacSci.pdf)).  Reproductive success of both species is highly variable, and is often low at this site. Wedge-tailed Shearwaters *Puffinus pacificus* breed in large numbers (an estimated 23 000 pairs) on Lehua and the island also holds an important population of Bulwer’s Petrels *Bulweria bulwerii. * Newell’s Shearwater* P. newelli* and Madeiran or Band-rumped Storm Petrel *Oceanodroma castro* have both been confirmed breeding on the island in the past, although if any remain to the present day they are present in extremely small numbers.  In addition the Christmas Shearwater *P. nativitatus* is suspected of breeding on the island. The island holds large breeding populations of Red-footed *Sula sula* and Brown *S. leucogaster*Boobies as well as of Red-tailed Tropicbirds *Phaethon rubricauda* and Black Noddies *Anous minutus*. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/B/Black_footed/Lehua Black-foot feeding chick Eric Vanderwerf s.jpg) ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/B/Black_footed/Lehua Black-foot chick Eric Vanderwerf s.jpg) Black-footed Albatrosses on Lehua Island, photographs by Eric Vanderwerf ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/L/Laysan/Laysan adult chick Lehua Eric Vanderwerf s.jpg) ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/L/Laysan/Laysan Albatross chick 1 Lehua Eric Vanderwerf s.jpg) Laysan Albatrosses on Lehua Island, photographed by Eric Vanderwerf Lehua Island is both the most southerly and the highest breeding locality for Black-footed Albatrosses and the only place where they breed in the main Hawaiian Islands. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/B/Black_footed/Lehua Black-footed Albatross Andre Raine s.jpg) A Black-footed Albatross flies over Lehua, photograph by Andre Raine The Lehua Island Ecosystem Restoration Project managed by the Offshore Islet Restoration Committee aimed to rid the island of introduced European Rabbits *Oryctolagus cuniculus* and Polynesian or Pacific Rats *Rattus exulans* that had been present since the 1930s.  Following an Environmental Impact Assessment ([EIA](http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-IMPACT/2004/May/Day-17/i11075.htm)) in 2005 hunting over November 2005 to January 2006 was successful in removing rabbits leading to vegetation recovery ([click here](http://www.esri.com/news/arcnews/spring10articles/lehua-island-hawaii.html)).  Following a second EIA in 2008 an attempt was made in January 2009 to remove the rats by aerial poisoning using the rodenticide diphacinone but this was unsuccessful and to date has not been reattempted ([click here](http://www.issg.org/pdf/publications/Island_Invasives/pdfwebview/3Eijzenga.pdf)).  A review of the failed eradication has suggested that a second attempt should be by ground-baiting by either (or both) hand-broadcasting poison bait or the use of bait stations ([click here](http://manoa.hawaii.edu/hpicesu/speci/lehua_review_final.pdf)).  Planning for a second eradication attempt is currently underway. With thanks to Andre Raine, Eric Vanderwerf and Lindsay Young for information and photographs. **Selected References:** Arata, J.A., Sievert, P.R. & Naughton, M.B. 2009.  [Status Assessment of Laysan and Black-footed Albatrosses, North Pacific Ocean, 1923-2000](http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2009/5131/pdf/sir20095131.pdf).  U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5131.  Reston: U.S. Geological Survey. Eijzenga, H. 2011.  [*Vegetation change following rabbit eradication on Lehua Island, Hawaiian Islands*](http://www.issg.org/pdf/publications/Island_Invasives/pdfwebview/3Eijzenga.pdf).  In: Veitch, C.R., Clout, M.N. & Towns, D.R. (Eds). Island Invasives: Eradication and Management. Gland: World Conservation Union & Auckland: Centre for Biodiversity and Biosecurity. pp. 290-294. Harrison, C.S. 1990.  Seabirds of Hawaii:  Natural History and Conservation.  Ithaca: Cornell University Press.  249 pp. Naughton, M.B., Romano, M.D. & Zimmerman, T.S. 2007.  [A Conservation Action Plan for Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) and Laysan Albatross (P. immutabilis).  Version 1.0](http://www.fws.gov/pacific/migratorybirds/Albatross%20Action%20Plan%20ver.1.0.pdf). Parkes, & J. Fisher, P. 2011.  [*Review of the Lehua Island Rat Eradication Project*](http://manoa.hawaii.edu/hpicesu/speci/lehua_review_final.pdf).  Lincoln: Landcare Research.  48 pp.  Raine, A.F., Johnson, O.J., Lee, K. & Vercelli, J.  2012.  *Trip Report for Lehua Island, 15-18 May 2012*.  DOFAW/PCSU Report.  15 pp.  Raine, A.F., McFarland, B., Harris, J., Smith, R. &  Seigel, K.  2013.  *Trip Report for Lehua Island, 14-16 May 2013*.  DOFAW/PCSU Report.  15 pp. Vanderwerf, E.A., Wood, K.R., Swenson, C., LeGrande, M., Eijzenga, H. & Walker, R.L. 2007.  Avifauna of Lehua Islet, Hawai’i: conservation value and management needs.  [*Pacific Science* 61: 39-51](http://www.pacificrimconservation.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/47%20Vanderwerf%20etal%202007%20LehuaIslet%20PacSci.pdf). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 24 December 2013, updated 31 December 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/acap-breeding-site-no-58-lehua-island-hawaii-supports-black-footed-and-laysan-albatrosses.md) ## Searching for Ratty: progress with removing alien mammals from South Georgia/Islas Georgias del Sur Regular readers of *ACAP Latest News*will have been keeping abreast of the ambitious attempts to rid South Georgia (Islas Georgias del Sur)* in the South Atlantic of three species of introduced mammals: Norwegian Rats *Rattus norvegicus*, House Mice *Mus musculus* and Reindeer *Rangifer tarandus*. Number 19 for December 2013 of the *Newsletter of the South Georgia Habitat Restoration Project* has now been published online ([click here](http://www.sght.org/newsletters-and-publications)).  In it Project Director Tony Martin reminds us of the completion of Phase 2 that aerial-baited 580 km² of the island against rodents earlier this year, but cautions that it will still be at last two years before its success can be guaranteed. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/W/Wandering/wandering_albatross_prion_island_anton_wolfaardt.jpg) South Georgia (Islas Georgias del Sur)* on the horizon from rodent- (and Reindeer-) free Prion Island Photograph by Anton Wolfaardt  Towards this it is intended to place a field team of six to eight persons led by Deputy Project Director Rob Webster supported by the yacht [*Pelagic Australis*](http://www.pelagic.co.uk/fleet_pa.asp) on the island for a month in March and April next year to ascertain whether any of the Phase-2 baiting zones will need to be re-treated during Phase 3 (which will aerial poison bait the remaining 31 zones in the southern part of the island) due to take place in 2015.  Techniques to test for the presence of rodents in Phase-2 areas will include searching for sign (fresh droppings, tracks in snow), placing out “chew sticks” soaked in edible oil to record tooth marks and the use of peanut butter-flavoured wax tags that have been proven attractive to rats in previous monitoring efforts.  Two other techniques to be used will be tracking tunnels with inked cards to record footprints and motion-activated trail cameras “that may even catch an elusive survivor on film”.  The detection devices will be checked before the end of the trip, and then left in situ with their exact locations plotted by GPS so that they can be revisited months or years in the future. It seems increasingly likely that the three zones totalling 128 km² that were treated in Phase 1 in 2011 are now rat-free.  No sign has been recorded since the bait drop and the regular sightings of South Georgia Pintail *Anas georgica* *georgica* ducklings and South Georgia Pipits *Anthus antarcticus* are supportive.  Fund-raising is now underway to raise the 2.5-3 million UK Pounds required for Phase 3 which represents the remaining one-third of the total rodent-infested area of the island. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Reindeer South Georgia Martin Collins s.jpg) Soon to be gone: a Reindeer on South Georgia (Islas Georgias del Sur)* Photograph by Martin Collins Other news to hand is that Phase 2 of the removal of the remaining animals in the second herd of Reindeer on the Barff Peninsula is set to take place in the next few months, following the successful removal of the Busen herd earlier this year ([click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1507-report-confirms-introduced-reindeer-are-on-the-way-out-on-a-south-atlantic-island)).  Removing Reindeer from South Georgia (Islas Georgias del Sur)* will lead to vegetation recovery from grazing, halt trampling from their hooves and, in time, improve the habitat for breeding seabirds, including the ACAP-listed burrowing White-chinned Petrel *Procellaria aequinoctialis*. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/W/White_chinned/White_chinned_Petrel_by_Ben_Phalan.jpg) White-chinned Petrels will benefit from an alien mammal-free island Photograph by Ben Phalan With chances seemingly good that in a few years South Georgia (Islas Georgias del Sur)* will join several other sub-Antarctic islands (such as New Zealand’s [Campbell](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1326-acap-breeding-sites-no-12-campbell-island-new-zealand-supports-nine-acap-listed-albatrosses-and-petrels) and [Enderby](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1469-acap-breeding-sites-no-40-enderby-island-auckland-island-group) and Australia’s [Macquarie](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1555-bye-bye-bunny-success-appears-in-sight-for-the-macquarie-island-pest-eradication-project)) as finally free of introduced mammals, leaving their sea and land birds in peace, thoughts will move to where next?  It may be that before the end of the current decade the United Kingdom’s [Gough Island](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1504-a-mouse-eradication-trial-gets-underway-on-gough-island-home-of-the-critically-endangered-tristan-albatross)and New Zealand’s [Antipodes Island](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/news/latest-news/1591-eradication-of-alien-mice-on-antipodes-island-now-scheduled-for-2015) (the latter island’s eradication exercise now scheduled for 2015) will join the all-clear list if their House Mice can be successfully eliminated.  Then the eradication experts will have to move on to an ever-decreasing list of southern islands still requiring attention ([click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/news-archive/24-2011-news-archive/811-history-of-exotic-terrestrial-mammals-on-southern-ocean-islands-and-in-antarctica) for a publication that lists which southern islands still support introduced mammals). With thanks to Jennifer Lee for information. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 22 December 2103* *A dispute exists between the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (Islas Georgias del Sur y Islas Sandwich del Sur) and the surrounding maritime areas. [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/searching-for-ratty-progress-with-removing-alien-mammals-from-south-georgia-islas-georgias-del-sur.md) ## ACAP Breeding Site No 57. Adams Island, Auckland Islands: home of the Antipodean Albatross [Adams Island](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adams_Island,_New_Zealand) (101 km²) forms part of New Zealand’s [Auckland Islands National Nature Reserve](http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/land-and-freshwater/offshore-islands/new-zealands-subantarctic-islands/auckland-islands/).  It lies at the southern end of the main [Auckland Island](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auckland_Island) separated by a narrow channel, known as [Carnley Harbour](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnley_Harbour).  Adams Island is mountainous with high coastal cliffs in places, rising to 705 m at [Mount Dick](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Dick). The island’s coastal vegetation includes [Southern Rātā](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrosideros_umbellata) *Metrosideros umbellata* forest and the inland mire and moorland habitats contain several species of megaherbs which make a colourful display when flowering, notably in an area known as Fairchild’s Garden in the north-west of the island. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Adams Carnley Harbour from SW Cape Barry Baker s.jpg) Adams Island across from Carnley Harbour taken from South West Cape on Auckland Island.  Photograph by Barry Baker ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Adams Island 3 Colin ODonnell s.jpg) Some of the tallest sea cliffs in the World can be found on the southern coast of Adams Island. The cliffs visible here at the mouth of Astrolabe Basin reach about 300 m while those in the far distance on the lee of Mt Dick are *c*. 500 m high.  Photograph by Colin O'Donnell ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Adams Island 5 Colin ODonnell s.jpg)   Mount Dick is the highest point on the left. The low-altitude band of Southern Rātā/Dracophyllum forest along Carnley Harbour rises to a maximum of 200 m merging into *Chionochloa* tussock grasslands on mid-altitude slopes then to rocky fellfield on the tops.    Photograph by Colin O'Donnell ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Adams Is Lake Turbot Erica Sommer s.jpg)  Lake Turbot on Adams Island, photographed by Erica Sommer The island group is surrounded by a recently declared large marine reserve: the [Auckland Islands/Motu Maha Marine Reserve](http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-visit/southland/subantarctic-islands/auckland-islands/) that covers an area of *c*. 484 000 ha ([click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/news-archive/57-2012-news-archive/1106-new-zealand-set-to-proclaim-three-new-marine-reserves-around-its-sub-antarctic-islands)). Adams Island falls within the New Zealand [Sub-Antarctic Islands World Heritage Site](http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/877) inscribed in 1998 which includes five island groups (Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, Bounty Islands, Campbell Island and the Snares Islands).  The island is part of the proposed [Auckland Islands Important Bird Area](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sitefactsheet.php?id=27410) (IBA). Six species of ACAP-listed albatrosses and petrels breed on Adams Island.  Population sizes in annually breeding pairs for five of them are taken from the [ACAP Data Portal](https://data.acap.aq/search_sites_results.cfm): Antipodean (Gibson’s) Albatross *Diomedea antipodensis gibsoni*:  3227 (2009) Southern Royal Albatross *Diomedea epomophora*:  15 (1991) Light-mantled Sooty Albatross *Phoebetria palpebrata*:  5000* (1973) White-capped Albatross *Thalassarche steadi*:  183 (2013) Northern Giant Petrel *Macronectes halli*:  35 (2004). *island group estimate with most occurring on Adams Island. A [recent report](http://www.doc.govt.nz/Documents/conservation/marine-and-coastal/marine-conservation-services/pop-2012-07-gibsons-albatross-admas-island-2013.pdf)to the New Zealand Department of Conservation has estimated the Adams’ Antipodean Albatross breeding population in 2013 as 4998 pairs.  Long-term research on this globally [Vulnerable](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=30004) species on Adams Island has shown declines in adult survival, productivity and recruitment; it is regarded as "Nationally Critical” in New Zealand ([click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1567-changing-fortunes-revealed-for-several-of-new-zealand-s-albatrosses-under-its-domestic-threat-classification-system)). ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/A/Antipodean/Antipodean Albatross 3 Adams Island Colin ODonnell s.jpg) Female Antipodean Albatross on its nest in tussock, the megaherb Campbell Island Daisy*Pleurophyllum speciosum* is in the foreground ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/A/Antipodean/Antipodean Albatross 2 Adams Island Colin ODonnell s.jpg) An unusually white male Antipodean Albatross – probably denoting great age Photograph by Colin O'Donnell Several hundred pairs of Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses breed on Adams’ southern cliffs but their numbers are thought have decreased over the last 15 years. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/L/Light_mantled/Light mantled Sooties Adams Island Colin ODonnell s.jpg) A pair of Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses on Adams Island among megaherbs Photograph by Colin O'Donnell Information on trends of White-capped Albatrosses in the Auckland Islands based on aerial counts suggests a stable population ([click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1463-aerial-counts-of-breeding-white-capped-albatrosses-over-the-last-seven-years-suggest-its-population-is-stable)) In addition to the above ACAP-listed species, the White-chinned Petrel *Procellaria aequinoctialis* breeds on Adams Island. The island has no (and has never had any) introduced mammals and tourism is not allowed.  Small research parties that monitor the Antipodean Albatross population each year have the use of a field hut but there is no other infrastructure. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Adams Is hut Barry Baker s.jpg) The field hut on Adams Island, photographed by Barry Baker With thanks to Barry Baker, Colin O’Donnell and Erica Sommer for information and photographs. **Selected References:** Baker, G.B., Jensz, K. & Cunningham, R. 2013.  [White-capped Albatross Population Estimate — 2011/12 and 2012/13 Final Report](http://www.doc.govt.nz/Documents/conservation/marine-and-coastal/marine-conservation-services/pop-2012-05-white-capped-albatross-final-report.pdf).  Wellington: Department of Conservation.  22 pp. Department of Conservation 1998.  Conservation Management Strategy Subantarctic Islands 1998-2008.  [Southland Conservancy Conservation Management Planning Series No. 10](http://www.doc.govt.nz/documents/about-doc/role/policies-and-plans/subantarctic-islands-cms/subantarctic-islands-cms.pdf).  Wellington: Department of Conservation.  113 pp. Department of Conservation 2006.  [Marine Protection for the New Zealand Subantarctic Islands: a Background Resource Document & CD ROM](http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/conservation/marine-and-coastal/marine-protected-areas/marine-protection-nz-subantarctic-islands.pdf).  Wellington: Department of Conservation.  48 pp. Elliott, G. & Walker, K. 2005.  Detecting population trends of Gibson's and Antipodean wandering albatrosses.  [*Notornis* 52: 215-222](http://notornis.osnz.org.nz/system/files/Notornis_52_4_215.pdf). Elliott, G. & Walker, K. 2013.  [*Gibson’s Wandering Albatross Research Adams Island 2013*](http://www.doc.govt.nz/Documents/conservation/marine-and-coastal/marine-conservation-services/pop-2012-07-gibsons-albatross-admas-island-2013.pdf).  Report the Department of Conservation.  10 pp. Peat, N. 2003.  *Subantarctic New Zealand: a Rare Heritage*.  Invercargill: Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai.  96 pp. Robertson, H.A., Dowding, J.E., Elliott, G.P., Hitchmough, R.A., Miskelly, C.M., O’Donnell, C.F.J., Powlesland, R.G., Sagar, P.M., Scofield, P. & Taylor, G.A. 2013.  Conservation Status of New Zealand Birds, 2012.  [New Zealand Threat Classification Series No. 4](http://www.doc.govt.nz/Documents/science-and-technical/nztcs4entire.pdf).  Wellington: New Zealand Department of Conservation.  22 pp. Russ, R. & Terauds, A. 2009.  *Galapagos of the Antarctic: Wild Islands South of New Zealand*.  Christchurch: Heritage Expeditions.  224 pp. Taylor, G.A. 2000.  Action Plan for Seabird Conservation in New Zealand. Part A, Threatened Seabirds.  [Threatened Species Occasional Publication No. 16](http://www.doc.govt.nz/documents/science-and-technical/tsop16.pdf).  Wellington: Department of Conservation.  234 pp. Walker, K. & Elliott, G. 1999.  Population changes and biology of the wandering albatross *Diomedea exulans gibsoni* at the Auckland Islands.  [*Emu* 99: 239-247](http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/MU99029). Walker, K. & Elliott, G. 2006.  At-sea distribution of Gibson’s and Antipodean wandering albatrosses, and relationships with long-line fisheries. [Notornis ](http://notornis.osnz.org.nz/system/files/Notornis_53_3_265.pdf)[53: 265-290](http://notornis.osnz.org.nz/system/files/Notornis_53_3_265.pdf).  West, C.J. 2003.  [New Zealand Subantarctic Islands Research Strategy](http://www.sub-antarctic.org/docs/subant-res-strat-05.pdf).  Invercargill: Department of Conservation. 38 pp. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 23 December 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/acap-breeding-site-no-58-adams-island-auckland-islands-home-of-the-antipodean-albatross.md) ## Seasonal greetings and best wishes for 2014 The ACAP Executive Secretary, Science Officer, Information Officer and the ACAP News Correspondents extend their seasonal greetings and best wishes for 2014 to all those involved with and interested in the conservation of albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters around the World. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Secretariat/ACAP xmas card 2013_e s.jpg) ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Secretariat/ACAP xmas card 2013_f s.jpg) ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Secretariat/ACAP xmas card 2013_s s.jpg) *Warren Papworth, John Cooper, *Wiesława Misiak, *Deborah Pardo, Matt Rayner, Juan Pablo Seco Pon & Lindsay Young, 20 December 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/seasonal-greetings-and-best-wishes-for-2014.md) ## Plastic, rubber and balloons: the not-so natural diet of the Short-tailed Shearwater Heidi Acampora ([Marine Biology Research Group](http://www.marinebiology.ugent.be/), Ghent University, Gent, Belgium) and colleagues write in the [*Marine Pollution Bulletin*](http://www.journals.elsevier.com/marine-pollution-bulletin) on plastic ingestion by stranded Short-tailed Shearwaters *Puffinus tenuirostris*. The paper’s abstract follows “Numerous species of seabirds have been shown to ingest anthropogenic debris, but few studies have compared ingestion rates between adults and juveniles of the same species.  We investigated marine debris ingestion by short-tailed shearwaters (*Puffinus tenuirostris*) obtained through two stranding events on North Stradbroke Island, Australia in 2010 (n= 102; adult) and 2012 (n= 27; juveniles).  Necropsies were conducted and solid contents found in guts were categorized into type and color.  Over 67% of birds ingested anthropogenic debris: 399 pieces of debris were identified.  We found no significant relationship between body condition of birds which had ingested anthropogenic debris and those that had not.  Juvenile birds were more likely to ingest debris than were adult birds and juveniles ingested significantly more pieces of debris than did adults.  Male and female birds ingested similar amounts and weights of debris.  To determine if *P. tenuirostris* actively selects for certain types of debris, we compared ingested debris to samples obtained from boat-based tows. Significant differences were found, suggesting that the birds select for hard plastic, rubber and balloons.” ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Shearwaters/Short_tailed/short_tailed_shearwater_mark_carey.jpg) Short-tailed Shearwater, photograph by Mark Carey **Reference:** Acampora, H., Schuyler, Q.A., Townsend, K.A. & Hardesty, B.D.  2014.  Comparing plastic ingestion in juvenile and adult stranded short-tailed shearwaters (*Puffinus tenuirostris*) in eastern Australia.  [*Marine Pollution Bulletin* doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.11.009](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X13007108). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 21 December 2013* * * [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/plastic-rubber-and-balloons-the-not-so-natural-diet-of-the-short-tailed-shearwater.md) ## Curb that cur! Yet more Laysan Albatrosses are killed by dogs running wild on Kaua’i The Hawaiian Department of Land and Natural Resources ([DLNR](http://dlnr.hawaii.gov/)) has issued a reminder to pet owners to keep pet dogs on leashes after three adult Laysan Albatrosses *Phoebastria immutabilis* were killed on the North shore of the Hawaiian island of Kaua’i last week in the latest incident where albatrosses have been slaughtered by loose dogs.  The dead albatrosses, which have only recently started returning to Kaua‘i to breed, were found by tourists walking near Moloa’a Bay. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/L/Laysan/Laysan Albatross killed by dog 2013 Gina Ord s.jpg) Remains of a Laysan Albatross killed by a dog this month Photograph by Gina Ord In recent years there have been a number of incidents when dogs have roamed into albatross colonies on Kaua’i and killed large numbers of breeding birds, with reported cases in 2004 (at least 13 adults and chicks), 2006 (two adults and 14 chicks), [2007](http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Jun/29/ln/FP706290360.html) (four chicks) and 2012 (at least nine chicks) ([click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/news-archive/57-2012-news-archive/40-the-perils-of-nesting-on-private-property-domestic-dogs-run-wild-and-kill-laysan-albatrosses-on-kauai)). “Yet again, protected seabirds have been killed on Kaua’i by dogs that have been allowed to roam off their leads,” said Thomas Ka’akapu, DLNR Kaua’1 Wildlife Manager ([click here](http://dlnr.hawaii.gov/blog/2013/12/13/nr13-169/)). “Considering that these albatross can live to be over 60 years old, it is particularly tragic to see them torn apart by dogs simply because a dog owner has been irresponsible.” Two of the three birds were marked with unique identification codes. One, KP341, was a male bird that had been banded in 2007.  It was one of a pair that are known to be the first pair to lay their egg on Kaua’i each year. The second bird, P009, was banded at the [Pacific Missile Range Testing Facility Barking Sands](https://cnic.navy.mil/regions/cnrh/installations/pacific_missile_range_facility_barking_sands.html) on the island’s South Shore. “We are asking dog owners to be responsible with their pets when walking along our coastal areas”, said Ka‘iakapu. “The message is simple – keep your dogs under control and on their leads.  That way we can prevent these kinds of incidents from happening over and over again.” ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/L/Laysan/Laysan Albatrosses Princeville Bob Waid shrunk.jpg) Suburban Laysan Albatrosses in Princeville in happier times Photograph by Bob Waid [Click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1323-acap-breeding-sites-no-11-princeville-kauai-where-laysan-albatrosses-breed-in-gardens-and-on-golf-courses) to read about the suburban albatrosses of Princeville on Kaua’i.  You can also follow two well-illustrated blogs that follow the fortunes of the garden-nesting albatrosses. [http://albatrossdiary.com/](http://albatrossdiary.com/) [http://albatrosskauai.com/index.html](http://albatrosskauai.com/index.html)[http://albatrosskauai.com/index.html](http://albatrosskauai.com/index.html) *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 16 December 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/curb-that-cur-yet-more-laysan-albatrosses-are-killed-by-dogs-running-wild-on-kaua-i.md) ## Head south! Breeding Short-tailed Shearwaters from Tasmania forage in Antarctic waters [Jaimie Cleeland](http://www.imas.utas.edu.au/people/profiles/postgraduate/c/jaimie-cleeland) ([Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies](http://www.imas.utas.edu.au/), University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia) and colleagues write in the [*Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology*](http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-experimental-marine-biology-and-ecology) on foraging patterns of breeding Short-tailed Shearwaters *Puffinus tenuirostris*. The paper’s abstract follows “During the breeding season, seabirds act as central place foragers, constrained to foraging locations nearer to the breeding colony.  Variability in energetic demands during phases of the breeding period has the capacity to shape foraging behaviour and influence at-sea foraging behaviour of seabirds due to the changing requirements of the young.  Short-tailed shearwaters (*Puffinus tenuirostris*) (STSH) are a migratory species that migrates between foraging grounds in the northern Pacific Ocean and breeding colonies in south-east Australia.  They are known to traverse large sectors of the Southern Ocean to find prey; however the at-sea foraging locations of this species are not spatially and temporally well defined during the breeding season, when energetic requirements are at their peak.  We aimed to define key foraging areas of STSH over the pre-laying, incubation and chick-rearing phases of the breeding cycle and identify associations with broad scale oceanographic features.  Using light-level geolocation archival tag technology, 27 adults from a southern Tasmanian colony were tracked from their arrival in October to March (2010–2011), providing information on a total of 77 pre-laying exodus, incubation and chick-rearing flights throughout the Southern Ocean.  During the pre-laying exodus and incubation phases, the birds visited waters of the sub-Antarctic Front and Polar Frontal Zone.  After hatching, the birds made direct flights to the Marginal Ice Zone between 155°E and 90°E.  The Antarctic pack ice is a key nursery ground for Antarctic krill (*Euphasia* [sic] *superba*) over the winter months, and as the ice retreats they become more accessible to STSH when energetic demands, due to chick provisioning, are at their greatest.  During late chick-rearing, the birds used waters in the region of the Antarctic Divergence.  A foraging index created from activity data collected by the tags indicated that adults spent the greatest amount of time foraging at the furthest extent of each trip.  This study has shown that STSH alter their foraging movements over the course of the breeding season, using areas that are likely to provide predictable food resources.” ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Shearwaters/Short_tailed/short_tailed_shearwater_mark_carey.jpg) Short-tailed Shearwater at sea, photograph by Mark Carey **Reference:** Cleeland, J.B., Lea, M.-A. & Hindell, M.A. 2014.  Use of the Southern Ocean by breeding Short-tailed shearwaters (*Puffinus tenuirostris*).  [*Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology* 450: 109–117](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022098113003511). *John Cooper, ACP Information Officer, 19 December 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/head-south-breeding-short-tailed-shearwaters-from-tasmania-forage-in-antarctic-waters.md) ## Bird-scaring lines, weighted branch lines and night setting can reduce albatross and petrel mortality to zero in Asian distant-water tuna fisheries Ed Melvin ([Washington Sea Grant](http://wsg.washington.edu/) and School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA) and colleagues have published online in the journal [*Fisheries Research*](http://www.journals.elsevier.com/fisheries-research) (for 2014) on best-practice mitigation for ACAP-listed albatrosses and petrels in Asian distant-water tuna fisheries. The paper’s abstract follows: “We comprehensively tested combinations of three primary mitigation measures in a pelagic longline fishery with one of the highest rates of interaction with what may be the world's most challenging seabird assemblage (dominated by *Procellaria* genus petrels), aboard fishing vessels typical of the Asian distant water fleet.  Multiple measures were used to compare the performance of weighted vs. unweighted branch lines set with two bird-scaring lines – hybrid lines with long and short streamers – during daytime and nighttime.  The weights used were a novel double-weight configuration.  Secondary attacks on baits brought to the surface by white-chinned petrels drove albatross mortality.  Regardless of time of day, weighted branch lines with two bird-scaring lines, deployed and maintained with an aerial extent of 100 m, reduced bird attacks by a factor of four, and secondary attacks and seabird mortality by a factor of seven, compared to unweighted branch lines, with little effect on fish catch rates and with no injuries to crew.  This combination yielded zero bird mortalities when gear was set at night.  We conclude that the simultaneous use of two bird-scaring lines, weighted branch lines and night setting meet our criteria for best-practice seabird bycatch mitigation for the joint-venture fleet targeting tuna and related species in the South African EEZ.  To be successful, the aerial extent of bird-scaring lines should be aligned with the distance astern that baited hooks sink beyond the foraging depth of the dominant seabird – in this case white-chinned petrels to a depth near 5 m.  Given that these measures were successful in one of the most challenging pelagic longline fisheries, they are likely to be widely applicable to pelagic longline fisheries using similar gear.” ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/W/White_chinned/white_chinned_petrel_hooked_by nicolas_gasco.jpg) A hooked White-chinned Petrel, photograph by Nicolas Gasco See also a previous [news item](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1403-adopting-best-practice-advice-will-reduce-mortality-of-white-chinned-petrels-in-the-south-african-pelagic-tuna-fishery) on the research project reported here. **References:** Melvin, E.F., Guy, T.J. & Read, L.B. 2013.  Reducing seabird bycatch in the South African joint venture tuna fishery using bird-scaring lines, branch line weighting and nighttime setting of hooks.  [*Fisheries Research* 147: 72-82](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016578361300132X). Melvin, E.F., Guy, T.J. & Read, L.B. 2014.  Best practice seabird bycatch mitigation for pelagic longline fisheries targeting tuna and related species.  [*Fisheries Research* 149: 5-18](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165783613001768). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 17 December 2013*  [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/bird-scaring-lines-weighted-branch-lines-and-night-setting-can-reduce-albatross-and-petrel-mortality-to-zero-in-asian-distant-water-tuna-fisheries.md) ## A lifetime of change: foraging patterns of Wandering Albatrosses alter as they age Henri Weimerskirch ([Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé](http://www.cebc.cnrs.fr/), Villiers en Bois, France) and colleagues, writing in the [*Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology*](http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-experimental-marine-biology-and-ecology), synthesize years of field research on the Wandering Albatross *Diomedea exulans* to describe changes that come with age and gender in foraging behaviour and at-sea distribution. The paper’s abstract follows: “Wandering albatrosses are large long-lived seabirds that inhabit the Southern Ocean.  This species uses wind to move at low energetic costs and probably represents one of the best studied life-history models in animals.  Here, using both tracking and isotopic data, we report on the lifetime distribution of wandering albatrosses at sea, constructing a synthesis about how their distribution, foraging movements and feeding ecology change throughout all life-history stages (i.e. juvenile, immature, pre breeding adults, breeding adults, sabbatical adults and senescent birds).  Males and females exhibit different foraging strategies that change throughout their life.  For instance, as males mature from young to old stages, they progressively move from subtropical waters to Antarctic waters.  In comparison, females remain in subtropical waters throughout their lives, but increase their speed of travel with age.  For both sexes, the first year at sea is a critical period, when the highest mortality occurs.  At this stage, juveniles have already fledged and are able to use the wind optimally to maximise movement, but require several months to reach the travelling speed of adults.  Immature albatrosses remain in warm subtropical waters, before returning to their birth place and future breeding grounds from where they move as central place foragers.  When recruited into the breeding population, they breed every other year.  In one year they invest in one long breeding season when males and females use separate foraging zones in the subtropics and sub-Antarctic, respectively.  In the subsequent year (termed “sabbatical” year), both sexes disperse across the Southern Ocean, with reduced segregation between sexes.  In total, throughout the approximate 50 year lifetime of a wandering albatross, an individual is estimated to travel a mere [sic] 8.5 million km.  We show that the changes in habitats and foraging strategies observed though the life time of wandering albatrosses are the results of behavioural adjustment to the successive constraints encountered, such as learning processes, breeding or ageing, and have profound consequences on survival and nesting success.” ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/W/Wandering/wandering_albatross_pink_stain2_john_chardine.jpg) A Wanderer at sea, photograph by John Chardine **Reference:** Weimerskirch, H., Cherel, Y., Delord, K., Jaeger, A., Patrick, S.C. & Riotte-Lambert, L. 2014. Lifetime foraging patterns of the wandering albatross: Life on the move!  [*Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology* 450: 68–78](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022098113003602). *John Cooper, ACA Information Officer, 18 December 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/a-lifetime-of-change-foraging-patterns-of-wandering-albatrosses-alter-as-they-age.md) ## Eradication of alien mice on Antipodes Island now scheduled for 2015 Planning for the eradication of introduced House Mice *Mus musculus* on New Zealand’s [Antipodes Island](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1358-acap-breeding-sites-no-23-antipodes-island-new-zealand-supports-seven-acap-listed-albatross-and-petrel-species) is now underway with the Department of Conservation ([DOC](http://www.doc.govt.nz/)) recently appointing a Project Manager to run the exercise ([click here](http://garethsworld.com/blog/environment/million-dollar-mouse-update/)).  It is aimed to make the eradication attempt during the southern (austral) winter of 2015. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Antipodes Island Erica Sommer.jpg) Antipodes Island with offshore (and mouse-free) stacks and islets Photograph by Erica Sommer The project has been “kick-started” by the [Million Dollar Mouse](http://www.ourfarsouth.org/milliondollarmouse/) campaign which so far has raised NZ$ 931 818 towards its target.  Field work necessary prior to an eradication attempt was conducted on Antipodes in July this year by a joint expedition from DOC and the [University of Auckland](https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en.html)([click here](http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/10/24/winter-in-the-subantarctic-antipodes-island/)). “The main goal of the trip was monitoring a 6 hectare area which the team treated with non-toxic bait containing the biomarker pyranine, simulating what would happen in a real eradication.  The biomarker glows under UV light allowing scientists to track bait consumption by animals.  The University of Auckland team focused on exhaustively trapping mice throughout the monitored area to estimate mouse density and confirm 100% bait consumption which is required for eradication to be successful.  The Department of Conservation team focused on capturing all birds, particularly the endemic parakeet species, to estimate the rate of bait consumption by these non-target species, which should be as close to 0% as possible.” “One hundred mice were captured and the rate of bait consumption was 100%.  The 2013 winter was the mildest on record for New Zealand and accordingly the density of mice was as high as it has been recorded in summer (previous work from [2011](https://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~jrussell/files/AWMS%20Newsletter%20June12%20p6-7.pdf)), over 80 per hectare, emphasising the urgency in eradicating mice from this island where they are constantly at plague densities, especially with a warming climate.  Thirty-five parakeets were captured and showed no signs of consuming bait, and were held in temporary captivity for observation.  The team also continued invertebrate monitoring at five sites to set a baseline for ecosystem recovery after mouse eradication.” Although there is yet no evidence that the mice are preying upon seabirds, including ACAP-listed albatrosses and petrels, on Antipodes Island (in contrast to the situation at [Gough](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1322-acap-breeding-sites-no-11-gough-island-south-atlantic-hanging-on-against-the-onslaught-of-its-killer-mice) and [Marion](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1371-acap-breeding-sites-no-27-sub-antarctic-marion-island-a-research-laboratory-for-albatrosses-and-petrels) Islands), they have apparently had a marked effect on the island’s invertebrates. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/A/Antipodean/Antipodean Albatrosses Erica Sommer 2.jpg) Antipodean Albatrosses on Antipodes Island: not yet affected by mice? Photograph by Erica Sommer The results of the 2015 eradication exercise on Antipodes Island should inform long-standing plans to eradicate House Mice on Gough Island in the South Atlantic ([click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1504-a-mouse-eradication-trial-gets-underway-on-gough-island-home-of-the-critically-endangered-tristan-albatross) for the latest news on that project).  It is now well known that Gough’s “killer mice” are wreaking havoc among the island’s ACAP-listed species (most especially the [Critically Endangered](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=30013) Tristan Albatross *Diomedea dabbenena*) and its suite of burrowing petrels alike ([click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1512-the-carnage-continues-censuses-of-critically-endangered-tristan-albatrosses-on-gough-island-reveal-a-further-poor-breeding-year-due-to-attacks-by-mice)). With thanks to Erica Sommer for photographs. **Selected References:** Russell, J.[C.] 2012.  The Million Dollar Mouse.  [*Newsletter of the Australasian Wildlife Management Society* 26(2): 6-7](https://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~jrussell/files/AWMS%20Newsletter%20June12%20p6-7.pdf). Russell, J.C. 2012.  Spatio-temporal patterns of introduced mice and invertebrates on Antipodes Island.  [*Polar Biology* 35: 118701195](http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00300-012-1165-8). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer 15 December 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/eradication-of-alien-mice-on-antipodes-island-now-scheduled-for-2015.md) ## ACAP Breeding Site No. 56. Middle and Stoltenhoff Islands, the least modified habitats in the Tristan Group Middle and Stoltenhoff Islands lie off [Nightingale Island](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1305-acap-breeding-sites-no-4-nightingale-island-tristan-da-cunha-south-atlantic) in the South Atlantic.  They form part of the United Kingdom’s Overseas Territory of St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. “Middle Island (approximately 10 ha) is a fairly low lying island located 250 m north of Nightingale, whereas Stoltenhoff Island (approximately 8 ha), 700 m northwest of Middle Island, is taller with 70 m cliffs around much of its coastline. There are two stacks at the eastern end of Stoltenhoff, the larger of which (0.8 ha) is capped in vegetation” ([click here](http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=7928573)). ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Middle Stoltenhoff s.jpg) Middle (right) and Stoltenhoff (behind and to the left) Islands viewed from Nightingale Island ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Stoltenhoff Peter Ryan s.jpg) Stoltenhoff Island and its two stacks with crayfishing boats ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Middle Stoltenhoff jophn Cooper s.jpg)  Stoltenhoff Island is partially obscured by Middle Island Photograph by John Cooper The two islands have been only rarely visited by scientists, with the last ornithological survey of both islands being undertaken in December 2009, following earlier published landings in 1974. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Stoltenhoff Islet Peter Ryan s.jpg) Stoltenhoff's steep cliffs support a few pairs of Sooty Albatrosses ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Stoltenhoff West End Peter Ryan s.jpg) The western side of Stoltenhoff showing its Tussock*Spartina arundinacea* covering In 2009 ACAP-listed and [Endangered](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3965) Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatrosses *Thalassarche chlororhynchos* were recorded breeding on both islands (40 pairs on Middle and 210 on Stoltenhoff). However, [Endangered](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3967) Sooty Albatrosses *Phoebetria fusca* were only recorded breeding on Stoltenhoff (six pairs).  Breeding numbers of both species have declined since the 1974 survey ([click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/news-archive/23-2010-news-archive/538-albatross-census-on-nightingales-islets-first-estimates-for-36-years)). ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Molly Middle Islet Peter Ryan s.jpg) An Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross broods its small chick on Middle Island All photographs by Peter Ryan unless stated Great Shearwaters *Puffinus gravis* and at least some other burrow-nesting petrels breed in numbers on both islands but Northern Rockhopper Penguins *Eudyptes moseleyi* breed only on more-accessible Middle Island. The two islands (along with Nightingale) currently have no formal nature reserve status.  Because they are nearly free of introduced plants (unlike Nightingale for which eight alien species have been recorded) and because they are rarely visited they are considered to be “among the least modified habitats at Tristan”.  Strict biosecurity protocols are therefore required prior to landings – which are only allowed with permission from the Tristan Conservation Department. With thanks to Peter Ryan for the photographs and for reviewing the text. **Selected References:** Sommer, E., Cuthbert, R. & Hilton, G. 2008.  Tristan and Nightingale Islands Wildlife Monitoring Manual Research Report.  [RSPB Research Report 33: 1-36](http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/tristan_nightingale_manual_tcm9-220540.pdf). Ryan, P.G. (Ed.) 2007. *Field Guide to the Animals and Plants of Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island*.  Newbury: Pisces Publications.  162 pp. Ryan, P.G. 2008.  Important Bird Areas: Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island.  [British Birds 101: 586-606](http://www.britishbirds.co.uk/search?id=9423). Richardson, M.E. 1984.  Aspects of the ornithology of the Tristan da Cunha group and Gough Island, 1972-1974.  [*Cormorant* 12: 123-201](http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/12_2/12_123-201.pdf). Rosenthal, E. 1952.  *Shelter from the Spray*.  Cape Town: Howard B. Timmins.  212 pp. Ryan, P.G., Glass, N. & Ronconi, R.A. 2011.  The plants and birds of Stoltenhoff and Middle Islands, Tristan da Cunha.  [Polar Record 47: 86-90](http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2FPOL%2FPOL47_01%2FS0032247410000112a.pdf&code=9506d55a131b3b35d298f403f4d38dc7). Tristan Island Government 2006.  [Tristan da Cunha Biodiversity Action Plan](http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/TristanBiodiversityActionPlan2_tcm9-180968.pdf).  53 pp. + 10 annexes. Wolfaardt, A.C., Glass, J. & Glass, T. 2009.  [Tristan da Cunha Implementation Plan for the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP): Review of Current Work and a Prioritised Work Programme for the Future](http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/pdf/pub10_TristandaCunhaACAPplan.pdf).  Edinburgh, Tristan da Cunha: Tristan da Cunha Government.  46 pp. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 14 December 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/acap-breeding-site-no-56-middle-and-stoltenhoff-islands-the-least-modified-habitats-in-the-tristan-group.md) ## Wisdom, the sexaganerian Laysan Albatross and her mate are back incubating on Midway Atoll once more Wisdom the famous Laysan Albatross *Phoebastria immutabilis* of [Midway Atoll](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1434-acap-breeding-site-no-36-midway-atoll-black-footed-laysan-and-short-tailed-albatrosses-within-a-world-heritage-site) in the North Pacific laid her latest egg on 29 November 2013 - exactly a year and one day since she laid her egg in 2012.  Wisdom is thought to be the oldest banded wild bird in the World and has bred successfully every year on Sand Island in the refuge since at least 2008 ([click here](http://usfwspacific.tumblr.com/post/69106441224/wisdom-the-laysan-albatross-returned-to-midway)). ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/L/Laysan/Wisdom November 2013 Pete Leary s.jpg) “Wisdom, a Laysan albatross, has come home once again to [Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge](http://www.fws.gov/refuge/midway_atoll/) within the [Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument](http://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/).  Wisdom is the world's oldest known living wild bird.  She was banded on Dec. 10, 1956 and was estimated to be at least five years old at the time of banding.  The USFWS Pacific Region and Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge celebrates the return of Wisdom an ancient seafarer and a welcome symbol of hope.” ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/L/Laysan/Wisdom and mate 21 November 2013 Pete Leary s.jpg) Wisdom is recognized by her red colour band Z333.  Last year her mate was banded with colour band G000, and he is back again this year.  Remarkably Wisdom was videoed this year in the act of laying her egg ([click here](http://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwspacific/11214497125/in/set-72157632891366006)). ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/L/Laysan/Wisdom with egg November 2013 Pete Leary s.jpg) [Click here](http://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwspacific/sets/72157632891366006/with/11214497125/)to view this and previous season’s photos of Wisdom Read about Wisdom’s breeding attempt last year [here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/news-archive/57-2012-news-archive/1127-wisdom-midways-62-year-old-laysan-albatross-is-back-and-breeding-once-more).  For more on this remarkable bird search on [Wisdom](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/component/search/?searchword=Wisdom&searchphrase=all&Itemid=213) on this web site. Meanwhile the equally famous pair of Short-tailed Albatrosses *P. albatrus* on Midway’s Eastern Island is currently attempting its third breeding attempt after having laid an egg last month.  The pair did not breed in the previous season but successfully fledged chicks in 2011 and 2012 (click [here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1553-short-tailed-albatrosses-return-once-more-to-midway-atoll-national-wildlife-refuge) and [here](http://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwspacific/10875043094/in/set-72157637706564443/)). With thanks to [Pete Leary](http://peteatmidway.blogspot.com/), Wildlife Biologist, Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge for photographs and information. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 13 December 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/wisdom-the-sexagenarian-laysan-albatross-and-her-mate-are-back-incubating-on-midway-atoll-once-more.md) ## Opportunity to work with Black-footed and Laysan Albatrosses on Kure Atoll The State of Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife is seeking a temporary-hire/volunteer Biological Technician for the summer 2014 field camp on Green Island, part of the [Kure Atoll Wildlife Refuge](http://www.hawaiianatolls.org/about/kure.php). [Kure Atoll](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kure_Atoll)is a part of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM), the western-most atoll in the North-west Hawaiian Islands.  Kure Atoll occupies a unique position referred to as the ‘Darwin Point’, which is the northern extent of coral reef development, and the atoll is estimated to be 29.8 million years old. Kure is an important breeding site for a sizable and diverse population of wildlife, with several rare or endangered species. Eighteen species of seabirds nest on Kure Atoll, including ACAP-listed Black-footed or Kaʻupu *Phoebastria nigripes* and Laysan or Mōlī *P. immutabilis* Albatrosses.  A female-female pair of Short-tailed Albatrosses *P. albatrus* have both laid on Kure eggs in recent years, but the eggs do nor hatch and are presumed infertile ([click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/news-archive/57-2012-news-archive/1130-now-we-just-need-a-male-two-female-short-tailed-albatrosses-lay-eggs-in-the-same-nest-on-kure-atoll-for-the-third-year-in-a-row)). ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/S/Short_tailed/Short-tailed Kure 2013 s.jpg) Kure Atoll's female-female pair of Short-tailed Albatrosses There are currently 15 native and 28 introduced plant species known.  Native plants are an integral resource for seabird breeding habitat and dune stabilization.  Invasive plants are a significant management concern because they displace native plant habitat and seabird nesting areas, entrap seabirds in dense vegetative mass and out-compete native plants. Temporary-hire positions are for 20 weeks, the remainder of time will be voluntary (approximately 10 weeks). Deployment is to occur from March until September 2014.  Personnel must be on Oahu and available to work at least one week prior to departure. Applicants must be physically fit.  “Must be in excellent health, able to walk 10 miles per day with a 40-lb pack, lift 50 lbs, work for long hours in hot/sunny, rainy/cold conditions and bend or stoop for long periods of time; must know how to swim; [have] knowledge of native Hawaiian species, excellent vision and plant identification skills.” [Click here](http://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/involved/pdf/summer_camp_2014_job_announcement_10_29_2013.pdf) for more information and how to submit an application. For more information about Kure Atoll, visit the [Kure Atoll Conservancy](http://www.kureatollconservancy.org) website and Facebook Page and the [Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument](http://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/visit/kure.html) website. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 12 December 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/opportunity-to-work-with-black-footed-and-laysan-albatrosses-on-kure-atoll.md) ## ACAP Breeding Site No. 55. Isla Gran Robredo, Argentina where Southern Giant Petrels breed without shade [Isla Gran Robredo](http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islote_Gran_Robredo) is located in the north of the [Golfo San Jorge](http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golfo_San_Jorge), Patagonia, Argentina; part of the island is seen here from the air. The area contains about 70 islands and islets that are situated close to the South American Continent. Isla Gran Robredo has an area of about 18 ha.  The island falls within the [*Parque Interjurisdiccional Marino Costero Patagonia Austral*](http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parque_interjurisdiccional_marino_costero_Patagonia_Austral) in northern Patagonia and lies 14 kilometres from the continental coast.  The park was created in 2008 as an “area of conservation, management and rational use of marine and terrestrial species and their habitats” ([click here](http://www.infoleg.gov.ar/infolegInternet/anexos/145000-149999/149238/norma.htm)). Isla Gran Robredo is one of the few South American breeding sites of the ACAP-listed Southern Giant Petrel *Macronectes giganteus*.  The birds breed in a rocky area free of vegetation.  About 1883 breeding pairs were counted in 2004/2005.  In 2012 455 chicks were counted according to the [ACAP Data Portal](https://data.acap.aq/breeding_site.cfm?bs_id=2).  Earlier published counts are of 450 chicks in 1989 and 695 nests in 1992. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Gran Robredo from the air Sofia Coppello s.jpg) Part of Isla Gran Robredo from the air ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Southern Giant PEtrel colony 2 Sofia Copello s.jpg) Breeding in the open on Isla San Robredo ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Southern Giant Petrel colony Sofia Copello s.jpg) Bills open: Southern Giant Petrel chicks in the sun Above photographs by Sofía Copello An ongoing programme on the island’s petrels has been undertaken by Argentine researchers since 1999.  During summer 2013, four solar satellite transmitters were attached to Southern Giant Petrels on nearby [Isla Arce](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1313-acap-breeding-sites-no-7-isla-arce-argentina-and-its-southern-giant-petrels) breeding colony ([click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/news-archive/23-2010-news-archive/685-research-on-southern-giant-petrels-in-argentina-an-ongoing-programme)). *![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Southern Giant Petrel with a solar PTT s.jpg)* A satellite-tagged Southern Giant Petrel flies past.  Photograph by a ranger from Punta Norte, Península Valdes, Argentina In the 2013 a [National Programme for the Conservation of the Southern Giant Petrel](http://www.ambiente.gov.ar/?aplicacion=normativa&IdNorma=1424&IdSeccion=0) was approved. [Click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/resources/acap-species2) to access the ACAP Species Assessment for the Southern Giant Petrel.  The Southern Giant Petrel is currently categorized as [Least Concern](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3870) and is not considered threatened. **Selected References:** Copello, S. & Quintana, F. 2009.  Breeding biology of the Southern Giant Petrel (*Macronectes giganteus*) in Patagonia, Argentina.  *Revista Ornitología Neotropical* 20: 369-380. Copello, S. & Quintana, F. 2009. Spatio-temporal relationship between Southern Giant Petrels and fisheries at the Patagonian Shelf.  [*Polar Biology* 32: 1211-1220](http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00300-009-0620-7?LI=true). Copello, S., Dogliotti, A.I., Gagliardini, D.A. & Quintana, F. 2011.  Oceanographic and biological landscapes used by the Southern Giant Petrel during the breeding season at the Patagonian Shelf.  [*Marine Biology* 158: 1247-1257](http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00227-011-1645-3?LI=true). Copello, S., Quintana, F. & Perez, F. 2008.  The diet of the Southern Giant Petrel in Patagonia: fishery-related items and natural prey.  [*Endangered Species Research *6: 15-23](http://www.int-res.com/articles/esr2008/6/n006p015.pdf). Patterson, D.L., Woehler, E.J., Croxall, J.P., Cooper, J., Poncet, S., Peter, H.-U., Hunter, S. & Fraser, W.R. 2008.  Breeding distribution and population status of the Northern Giant Petrel *Macronectes halli* and Southern Giant Petrel *M. giganteus*.  *[Marine Ornithology](http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/36_2/36_2_115-124.pdf) *[36: 115-124](http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/36_2/36_2_115-124.pdf). [Click here](http://www.marineornithology.org/abs/36_2/36_2_115-124_appendices.pdf) for the paper's separate appendices with historical count data. Quintana, F., Dell' Arciprete, P. & Copello, S. 2010.  Foraging behaviour and habitat use by the Southern Giant Petrel on the Patagonian Shelf.  [*Marine Biology* 157: 515-525](http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00227-009-1337-4?LI=true). Quintana, F., Punta, G., Copello, S. & Yorio, P. 2006.  Population status and trends of Southern Giant Petrels (*Macronectes giganteus*) breeding in North Patagonia, Argentina.  [*Polar Biology *30: 53-59](http://www.avesmarinhas.com.br/2%20-%20Reprodução%20de%20petrel%20gigante.pdf). *Sofía Copello, Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)-Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Argentina, 11 December 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/acap-breeding-site-no-54-isla-gran-robredo-argentina-where-southern-giant-petrels-breed-without-shade.md) ## How the feral cats of Australia’s sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island were successfully eradicated Sue Robinson ([Invasive Species Branch](http://www.dpipwe.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/ThemeNodes/DREN-4VH82R?open), Tasmanian *Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment,*Australia) and Geoff Copson writing in the journal [*Ecological Management & Restoration*](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1442-8903) give the history of the successful eradication of feral Domestic Cats *Felis catus* from Australia’s sub-Antarctic [Macquarie Island](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1347-breeding-sites-no-19-macquarie-island-a-recovering-sub-antarctic-world-heritage-site), a breeding site for seven species of ACAP-listed albatrosses and petrels. Macquarie at 128 km² is the second-largest island from which feral cats have been eradicated, following South Africa’s sub-Antarctic [Marion Island](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1371-acap-breeding-sites-no-27-sub-antarctic-marion-island-a-research-laboratory-for-albatrosses-and-petrels) (290 km²) in 1991 after a 19-year campaign. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Macquarie Island Aleks Terauds.jpg) Macquarie Island, photograph by Aleks Terauds The paper’s abstract follows: “The feral Cat (*Felis catus*) population on Macquarie Island was targeted for eradication between 1996 and 2002, with 761 cats captured during this period.  After 22 years of cat control from 1974 integrated with control programmes for other pests, effort intensified for 2 years before a dedicated eradication programme began in 1998.  The primary knock-down for the eradication used cage trapping and shooting, with most surviving cats captured with leg-hold traps.  A total of 6298 field days and 216 574 trap nights were recorded in this operation.  Factors contributing to the success of the programme included extensive planning, increased staff numbers at critical times, better access to remote areas of the island, introduction of leg-hold traps, sufficient operational funding and good collaboration between government agencies operating on the island.  The programme would have benefited from earlier deployment of detector dogs and better posteradication monitoring of a broader range of native species impacted by cats.  The successful eradication of cats from Macquarie Island, being the second largest achieved to date, provides valuable experience for cat eradication attempts on other large remote islands.  This programme relied on ground-based techniques with minimal use of poisons and provides possible options for sites where broad-scale poisoning, or where aerial distribution of poisons, cannot be used.” An on-going exercise to remove European Rabbits *Oryctolagus cuniculus*, Black Rats *Rattus rattus* and House Mice *Mus musculus* from Macquarie is increasingly looking like it has been successful ([click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1555-bye-bye-bunny-success-appears-in-sight-for-the-macquarie-island-pest-eradication-project)).  If so, this will mean the island will be alien mammal free. [Click here](http://petsaspests.blogspot.com.es/search/label/Macquarie) to access more literature about Macquarie’s cats. **References:** Bester, M.N., Bloomer, J.P., van Aarde, R.J., Erasmus, B.H., van Rensburg, P.J.J., Skinner, J.D., Howell, P.G. & Naude, T.W. 2002.  A review of the successful eradication of feral cats from sub-Antarctic Marion Island, southern Indian Ocean.  [*South African Journal of Wildlife Research* 31: 65-73](http://www.sabinet.co.za/abstracts/wild/wild_v32_n1_a9.html). Robinson, S.A. & Copson, G.R. 2013.  Eradication of cats (*Felis catus*) from subantarctic Macquarie Island.  [*Ecological Management & Restoration*](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/emr.12073/abstract). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 10 December 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/how-the-feral-cats-of-australia-s-sub-antarctic-macquarie-island-were-successfully-eradicated.md) ## At risk: New Zealand’s Black Petrels overlap at sea with both longline and trawl fisheries Elizabeth (Biz) Bell ([Wildlife Management International Ltd](http://www.wmil.co.nz/)) and colleagues have reported to a [recent meeting](http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/marine-and-coastal/conservation-services-programme/meetings-and-project-updates/21-november-2013/) of the [Conservation Services Programme](http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/marine-and-coastal/conservation-services-programme/) Technical Working Group of New Zealand’s [Department of Conservation](http://www.doc.govt.nz/) on the at-sea distribution of ACAP-listed Black Petrels *Procellaria parkinsoni* in relation to fisheries. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/B/Black/Black_Petrel_by_Dept_of_Conservation_New_Zealand.jpg) Black Petrel, courtesy of the New Zealand Department of Conservation The draft report’s abstract follows: “This report is part of an ongoing long-term study of the black petrel, *Procellaria parkinsoni*, on Great Barrier Island (Aotea Island) that was begun in the 1995/96 breeding season, and aims to describe foraging information and spatial overlap with fisheries.  Since the 2005/06 season, 92 Lotek™ geo-locator data-loggers have been deployed on breeding black petrels; of these, 86 were retrieved for analysis.  These indicated that the foraging range for the black petrels was highly variable and inconsistent between breeding phase and sex.  During the breeding season, birds  foraged around the northern New Zealand, particularly along the continental shelf edges or  seamounts, travelling near the Chatham Rise, further north into the Pacific (towards Fiji) and to  the eastern Australian coast.  Fishing effort for trawl, bottom longline and surface longline fisheries in New Zealand fisheries waters was used to define the overlap with the black petrel foraging range.  The overlap between black petrel distributions and observed effort was highest for snapper bottom longline, bigeye tuna surface longline, and scampi trawl fisheries.  In all three methods, the fishery with the highest overlap between black petrel distributions and observed effort had the highest number of observed captures.  Continued bycatch of breeding adults in New Zealand and overseas fisheries has the potential to seriously affect the species.” With thanks to Graham Parker for information **Reference:** Bell, E.A., Sim, J.L., Abraham, E., Torres, L. & Schaffer, S. 2013.  [*At-Sea Distribution of the Black Petrels (*Procellaria parkinsoni*) on Great Barrier Island (Aotea Island), 2009/10: Part 2 – Overlap with Fisheries.  Draft Final Report to Conservation Services Programme Technical Working Group, 21 November 2013*.](http://www.doc.govt.nz/Documents/conservation/marine-and-coastal/marine-conservation-services/meetings/pop-2009-01-black-petrel-spatial-analysis-part-2-fisheries-overlap.pdf)  Wellington: Department of Conservation.  16 pp. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 09 December 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/at-risk-new-zealand-s-black-petrels-overlap-at-sea-with-both-longline-and-trawl-fisheries.md) ## ACAP-listed albatross and petrel species dominated among seabirds killed by New Zealand fisheries in 2012/13 Elizabeth (Biz) Bell of [Wildlife Management International Ltd](http://www.wmil.co.nz/) has reported to a [recent meeting](http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/marine-and-coastal/conservation-services-programme/meetings-and-project-updates/21-november-2013/) of the [Conservation Services Programme](http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/marine-and-coastal/conservation-services-programme/) Technical Working Group of New Zealand’s [Department of Conservation](http://www.doc.govt.nz/) via Project INT2010/02 on the numbers of seabirds reported killed by New Zealand fisheries in 2012/13.  Of 431 birds returned from vessels, 342 (79%) were identified as belonging to 11 ACAP-listed species. The White-chinned Petrel *Procellaria aequinoctialis* was killed in the most numbers (39% out of the total of 431), followed by White-capped Albatross *Thalassarche steadi* (21%), Buller’s Albatross *T. bulleri* (11%) and Salvin’s Albatross *T. salvini* (5%) among the ACAP-listed species.  Of the non-ACAP-listed species the Sooty Shearwater *Puffinus griseus* was reported killed in relatively large numbers (18% of the overall total). ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/B/Bullers/bullers_alblaross_chris_golding.jpg) Buller's Albatross, phootgraph by Chris Golding The report’s abstract follows: “New Zealand waters support a diverse range of seabird species, but much of the commercial fishing activity in the region overlaps with their ranges.  The accurate identification of seabirds captured in New Zealand fisheries is vital for determining the potential impact of fisheries on these populations.  Between 1 July 2012 and 30 June 2013 New Zealand waters a total of 431 seabirds comprising 17 taxa were incidentally killed as bycatch and returned for autopsy by onboard New Zealand Government observers.  Birds were returned from longline (n = 30) and trawl (n = 146) vessels, and were dominated numerically by four species (white-chinned petrel *Procellaria aequinoctialis*, New Zealand white-capped albatross *Thalassarche steadi*, Buller’s albatross *Thalassarche bulleri bulleri* and sooty shearwater *Puffinus griseus*).  All birds returned from longline fisheries had injuries consistent with being hooked or entangled in the bill or throat.  In contrast, most birds (79.9%) returned from trawl fisheries were killed by entanglement in the net or cod-end, with the remaining 20.1% likely to have been killed by warp interaction.  Two birds were killed by striking the deck.  Birds had similar mean fat scores as in the previous fishing year, and discards, including offal, appear to continue to be an attractant for many seabirds.  Out of 138 records of seabird captures on fishing vessels, photographs were taken of 52 seabirds consisting of 13 eleven taxa.  Image quality varied widely, with poor images being particularly common for birds that were alive and seen onboard for short periods.  Recommendations are made to improve photo-identifications in the future.” With thanks to Graham Parker for information **Reference:** Bell, E. [A.] 2013.  *[Identification of Seabirds Captured in New Zealand Fisheries: 1 July 2012 – 30 June 2013.  Draft Final Report to Conservation Services Programme Technical Working Group, 21 November 2013](http://www.doc.govt.nz/Documents/conservation/marine-and-coastal/marine-conservation-services/meetings/int2010-02-final-report-july-12-june-13.pdf).*  Wellington: Department of Conservation.  44 pp. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 08 December 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/acap-listed-albatross-and-petrel-species-dominated-among-seabirds-killed-by-new-zealand-fisheries-in-2012-13.md) ## Conservation status of the Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross to be assessed on Tristan da Cunha The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds ([RSPB](http://www.rspb.org.uk)) received a grant last month to assess the conservation status of the [Endangered](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3965) and ACAP-listed Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross *Thalassarche chlororhynchos*on the main island of Tristan da Cunha, part of the United Kingdom Overseas Territory of St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic ([click here](http://darwin.defra.gov.uk/news/2013-11/2-million-for-environmental-projects-in-our-overseas-territories/)). ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/A/Atlantic_Yellow_nosed/Atlantic_Yellow_nosed_Albatross1_by_Peter_Ryan.jpg)   An Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross incubates on its pedestal nest The grant follows on from the ACAP Advisory Committee identifying the need for a census of the main island's population of yellow-nosed albatrosses so that a global population estimate can be made and the species' conservation status can be clarified. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/A/Atlantic_Yellow_nosed/Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross Molly Bog Inaccessible Island Peter Ryan shrunk.jpg) Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatrosses on Inaccessible Island, with the main island of Tristan da Cunha on the horizon Photographs by Peter Ryan The funding to the level of UK£82 081 comes from the second round of the UK’s Overseas Territories Environment and Climate Fund, known also as [Darwin Plus](http://darwin.defra.gov.uk/apply/darwin-plus/), that was established last year with funds from the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs ([Defra](http://www.gov.uk/defra)), Foreign & Commonwealth Office ([FCO](https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth-office)) and Department for International Development ([DFID](https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-international-development)). Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatrosses are endemic to the Tristan Group, breeding on all the four main islands as well as on some associated islets.  Population numbers are poorly known on all the islands, because of the difficulty of conducting ground censuses in rugged terrain and among sometimes thick vegetation.  The species has been monitored via a colour-banded population on [Gough Island](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1322-acap-breeding-sites-no-11-gough-island-south-atlantic-hanging-on-against-the-onslaught-of-its-killer-mice)since 1982.  Banding and counts in defined areas have also been undertaken on the main island of [Tristan](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1421-acap-breeding-sites-no-34-the-main-island-of-tristan-da-cunha-inhabited-by-both-albatrosses-and-islanders), [Inaccessible](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1294-acap-breeding-sites-no-2-inaccessible-island-tristan-da-cunha-group) and around The Ponds on [Nightingale Island](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1305-acap-breeding-sites-no-4-nightingale-island-tristan-da-cunha-south-atlantic). The project aims to undertake a photographic aerial census of albatross numbers on the main island during incubation in September/October 2014 (and perhaps also on Inaccessible Island if logistics allow), as well as work towards improving and expanding the monitoring programme. Fifteen projects were funded in UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs) in the second round.  [Click here](http://darwin.defra.gov.uk/news/2013-11/2-million-for-environmental-projects-in-our-overseas-territories/) for the other 14 Darwin Plus grants funded in the November round.  A Government of St Helena project will study the taxonomic and conservation status of *Oceanodroma* storm petrels in the South Atlantic.  The Madeiran Storm Petrel *O. castro* breeds on several islets around St Helena. With thanks to Clare Stringer for information. **Selected references:** Cooper, J. & Ryan, P.[G.] in press.  Progress with supporting the Albatross and Petrel Agreement on the outer islands of Tristan da Cunha.  *Tristan da Cunha Newslette*r No. 54. Cuthbert, R.[J.] & Sommer, E.[S.] 2004.  Gough Island Bird Monitoring Manual.  [RSPB Research Report  No. 5](http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/Goughmonitoringmanualv2_tcm9-181021.pdf).  52 pp. Cuthbert, R.L., Ryan, P.G. & Cooper, J. 2013.  Population trends and breeding success of albatrosses and giant petrels at Gough Island in the face of at-sea and on-land threats.  [*Antarctic Science*  doi:10.1017/S0954102013000424](http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8952593&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S0954102013000424). Cuthbert, R., Ryan, P.G., Cooper, J. & Hilton, G. 2003.  Demography and population trends of the Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross.  [The Condor 105: 439-452](http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1650/7209). Ryan, P.G. 2005.  [Inaccessible Island Seabird Monitoring Manual](http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/InaccessibleIslandseabirdmon_tcm9-181044.pdf).  RSPB Research Report 16: 1-32. Sommer, E., Cuthbert, R. & Hilton, G. 2008.  Tristan and Nightingale Islands Wildlife Monitoring Manual Research Report.  [RSPB Research Report 33: 1-36](http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/tristan_nightingale_manual_tcm9-220540.pdf). Wolfaardt, A.C., Glass, J. & Glass, T. 2009.  [Tristan da Cunha Implementation Plan for the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP): Review of Current Work and a Prioritised Work Programme for the Future](http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/pdf/pub10_TristandaCunhaACAPplan.pdf).  Edinburgh, Tristan da Cunha: Tristan da Cunha Government.  46 pp. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 07 December 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/conservation-status-of-the-atlantic-yellow-nosed-albatross-to-be-assessed-on-tristan-da-cunha.md) ## ACAP Breeding Site No. 54. Île de la Possession, Îles Crozet, home of l'Albatros hurleur [Île de la Possession](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%8Ele_de_la_Possession) (Possession Island) with an area of about 150 km² is the largest of the five main islands in the French Îles Crozet in the southern Indian Ocean, and the only one inhabited by a transient human population.  The island is mountainous with deep valleys. Along with the other French island possessions in the Southern Ocean, the Crozets are administered by [TAAF](http://www.taaf.fr/) (Terres australes et antarctiques françaises).  The [Alfred Faure](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Faure) research station lies on the eastern side of the island, from which biological research on seabirds, including on the ACAP-listed Wandering Albatross or l'Albatros hurleur *Diomedea exulans*, is undertaken by [CNRS Chizé](http://www.cebc.cnrs.fr/) biologists.  Activities ashore are controlled by a management plan with certain areas on the island declared to be *Sites réservés à la recherche scientifique et technique* with access for research purposes by permit only.  Unlike all the other Crozet Islands, Possession falls outside the *Réserve naturelle des Terres australes Françaises*. The Crozets form part of a large Ramsar Wetland of International Importance, the second in the Sub-Antarctic after South Africa’s Prince Edward Islands ([click here](http://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-documents-list-annotated-ramsar-16400/main/ramsar/1-31-218^16400_4000_0)).  Additionally the island has been designated as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International ([click here](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sitefactsheet.php?id=6897)). Twenty-six seabird species are known to breed on the island, including eight ACAP-listed albatrosses and petrels as listed below with their most recent annual breeding numbers as given in the [ACAP Data Portal](https://data.acap.aq/). Wandering (355 pairs in 2013), Grey-headed T*halassarche chrysostoma* (10 pairs in 1981/2), *Sooty Phoebetria fusca* (84 pairs in 2012/13) and Light-mantled Sooty *P. palpebrata* (1095 pairs in 2012/13) Albatrosses, Northern *Macronectes halli* (485 pairs in 2012/13) and Southern *M. giganteus* (237 pairs in 2012/13) Giant Petrels and White-chinned *Procellaria aequinoctialis* (5783 pairs in 2003/04) and Grey *P. cinerea* Petrels. Black Rats *Rattus rattus* are present on Île de la Possession and are thought to have affected burrowing petrels.  [Click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/news-archive/57-2012-news-archive/205-bye-bye-moo-cows-and-bye-bye-mouflons-recent-conservation-and-restoration-efforts-at-the-french-sub-antarctic-islands) to read of French efforts to rid their southern islands of introduced mammals. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Franck Theron _Champs des albatros s.jpg)  Situated a day’s hike from the research station, the Champs des albatros area supports approximately 140 annually breeding pairs of Wandering Albatrosses ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Franck Theron _Champs des albatrosCloudy weather s.jpg) Morning in the Jardin Japonais (Japanese Garden).  Giant petrels and Sooty and Grey-headed Albatrosses occur here ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Franck Theron _Champs des albatrosColony of sooty albatrosses s.jpg) A colony of Sooty Albatrosses breeds on the cliffs.  Wandering and Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses and both species of giant petrels breed in the vicinity ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Franck Theron _Champs des albatrosSouth giant petrel s.jpg) Southern Giant Petrels breed over much of the island with the largest numbers in the Jardin Japonais and Champs des albatros areas ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Franck Theron _Champs des albatrosWandering albatross at sunset s.jpg) A Wandering Albatross at sunset with Roche Percée in the background ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Franck Theron _Champs des albatrosWandering albatrosses in parade s.jpg) Displaying Wandering Albatrosses Read ACAP Breeding Site accounts for the other French sub-Antarctic islands: [Kerguelen](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1435-acap-breeding-site-no-39-iles-kerguelen-300-islands-supporting-10-acap-species), [Amsterdam](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1429-acap-breeding-sites-no-37-ileamsterdam-only-home-of-the-amsterdam-albatross) and [Saint-Paul](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1430-acap-breeding-site-no-38-ilesaint-paul-with-its-spectacular-flooded-crater). All photographs by Theron Franck. **Selected References:** Catard, A. 2001.  [French Southern Territories](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/userfiles/file/IBAs/AfricaCntryPDFs/French_Southern_Territories.pdf).  In: Fishpool, L.D.C. & Evans. M.I. (Eds).  *Important Bird Areas in Africa and Associated Islands: Priority Sites for Conservation*.  Newbury: Pisces Publications & Cambridge: BirdLife International.  pp. 337-347. Duriez, O. & Delord, K. 2012.  Manchots, petrels et albatross: oiseaux des Terres australes et antarctiques françaises (TAAF).  [*Ornithos* 19-3: 162-183.](http://www.cebc.cnrs.fr/publipdf/2012/DO19_2012.pdf) Duriez, O., Jornvaal, H. & Shirihai, H. 2005.  Birds and wildlife of the French sub-Antarctic islands: Crozet, Kerguelen and Amsterdam & St Paul.  [*Dutch Birding* 27: 87-115](http://www.dutchbirding.nl/journal.php?id=158). Headland, R.K. 2012.  History of exotic terrestrial mammals in Antarctic regions.  [*Polar Record*  48: 123-144](http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8503231). Ministère de l'Écologie et du Développement Durable 2008.  [*Décret No. 2006-1211 du 3 octobre 2006 portant creation de la reserve naturelle des Terres australes françaises*](http://www.taaf.fr/IMG/pdf/d-2006-1211-2.pdf).  Journal Officiel de la République Française.  4 octobre 2006.  4 pp. Pisanu, B., Caut, S., Gutjahr S., Vernon, P. & Chapuis, J.-L. 2011.  Introduced black rats (*Rattus rattus*) on Ile de la Possession (Iles Crozet, Subantarctic): diet and trophic position in food webs.  [*Polar Biology* 34: 169-180](http://www.springerlink.com/content/dg066817363p5gg1/). Shirihai, H. 2007.  *A Complete Guide to Antarctic Wildlife.  The Birds and Marine Mammals of the Antarctic Continent and the Southern Ocean*.  Second Edition.  London: A & C Black.  pp. 466-470. TAAF 2006.  *Instructions sur la protection de l'environnement dans les Terres australes antarctiques françaises*.  Saint-Pierre: Terres australes et antarctiques françaises.  9 pp. TAAF 2010. * [Plan de gestion 2011 - 2015 Réserve naturelle des Terres australes françaises](http://www.taaf.fr/IMG/pdf/telechargez_la_synthese_du_plan_de_gestion_20112015_de_la_reserve.pdf)*.  Saint Pierre, La Réunion: Terres australes et antarctiques françaises.  35 pp. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer & Theron *Franck*, Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, France, 06 December 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/acap-breeding-site-no-53-ile-de-la-possession-iles-crozet-home-of-l-albatros-hurleur.md) ## Tagging and tracking the Critically Endangered Balearic Shearwater The [Royal Naval Birdwatching Society](http://www.rnbws.org.uk/) has recently published [Volume 62](http://www.rnbws.org.uk/394/)of its annual journal *Sea Swallow* for 2013.  It carries an article describing recent research undertaken on the [ACAP-listed](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/resources/acap-species2) and [Critically Endangered](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=30026) Balearic Shearwater *Puffinus mauretanicus* at its breeding sites on the Balearic Islands of Mallorca and Menorca. Russell Wynn ([National Oceanography Centre](http://noc.ac.uk/), Southampton, UK) and British and Mallorcan colleagues continued to deploy GLS and GPS trackers and time-depth recorders to birds for the third year.  [Click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1491-project-shearwater-continues-to-study-the-acap-listed-balearic-shearwater-at-its-breeding-sites-and-at-sea) for more details of this year’s and previous year’s field work and [here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/news-archive/57-2012-news-archive/143-leaving-the-med-behind-balearic-shearwaters-prefer-to-holiday-along-the-french-and-portuguese-atlantic-coasts) to access an earlier publication by the research group on results from the first year of at-sea tracking. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Shearwaters/Balearic/Cabrera Islands Miguel McMinn 3 s.jpg) Balearic Shearwater in its breeding cave, photographed by Miguel McMinn [Click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1300-acap-breeding-sites-no-3-sa-cella-sa-dragonera-mallorca-balearic-islands-home-of-the-balearic-shearwater) and [here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1492-acap-breeding-sites-no-46-the-cabrera-archipelago-maritime-terrestrial-national-park-supports-balearic-shearwaters-in-the-absence-of-introduced-predators) for ACAP Breeding Site accounts for the Balearic Shearwater, including Sa Cella where the studies reported here have been undertaken. With thanks to the Royal Naval Birdwatching Society. **Reference:** Wynn, R.B. 2013.  Tagging and tracking the critically endangered Balearic Shearwater: summer 3013 update.   *Sea Swallow* 62: 10-15. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 05 December 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/tagging-and-tracking-the-critically-endangered-balearic-shearwater.md) ## Varying fortunes: Black-browed and Black-footed Albatrosses are no longer globally threatened, but the Grey-headed Albatross is now considered Endangered The Black-browed Albatross *Thalassarche melanophris* of the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific’s Black-footed Albatross *Phoebastria nigripes*are no longer considered globally threatened by BirdLife International and the IUCN Red List.  Previously categorized as Endangered and Vulnerable, respectively, they both now appear on the [2103 Red List update](http://www.iucn.org/about/work/programmes/species/our_work/the_iucn_red_list/) as Near-threatened ([click here](http://www.birdlife.org/worldwide/news/red-list-birds-2013-number-critically-endangered-birds-hits-new-high)).  In contrast the Grey-headed Albatross *T. chrysostoma* has been up-listed from Vulnerable to Endangered. The following justifications for the changes are taken from the latest BirdLife fact sheets for each species: **Black-browed Albatross** This species has been downlisted to [Near Threatened](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3959) as it is no longer estimated to be undergoing very rapid population declines.  Survey data from the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)*, holding over 70% of the global population, showed population increases during the 2000s and possibly since the 1980s, and the data suggest reclassification as Least Concern, however there remains a considerable degree of uncertainty over population trends for a significant part of the global population, and trend estimates are heavily influenced by the extrapolation over 65 years of data from a ten-year period.  In addition, high levels of mortality of this species are reported from longline and trawl fisheries in the South Atlantic.  For these reasons, moderately rapid ongoing declines over three generations since 1980 are precautionarily [sic] suspected until further data are forthcoming. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/B/Black_browed/Black_Browed_Albatross_closeup_marion_by_genevieve_jones.jpg) The Black-browed Albatross is doing better... Photograph by Genevieve Jones **Black-footed Albatross** This species has been downlisted from Vulnerable as analysis of recent data suggests that its population is not undergoing rapid on-going declines and is either stable or increasing.  However, modelling of the likely effects of mortality caused by longline fishing fleets, combined with potential losses to breeding colonies from sea-level rise and storm surges, suggests it is appropriate to precautionarily [sic] predict a moderately rapid population decline over the next three generations (56 years), hence its classification as [Near Threatened](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3957)rather than Least Concern. According to Birdlife “[t]here is still some way to go, but this gives us great hope for turning around the fortunes of other albatrosses.  Bycatch in fisheries is the main threat, and efforts are underway in many longline and trawl fleets worldwide to reduce the numbers killed.  If we can keep this up, there is real hope that the Black-browed and Black-footed Albatross will set a trend for the future.” **Grey-headed Albatross** This species has been uplisted to [Endangered](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3964) as data from some major colonies, in particular South Georgia (Georgias del Sur)*, which holds around half the global population, suggest that overall declines are taking place at a very rapid rate over three generations (90 years), even if colonies lacking trend information are assumed to be stable. The major driver of declines is likely to be incidental mortality on longline fisheries. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/G/Grey_headed/Grey-headed Albatross Marion Island Marienne de Villiers.jpg) ...but the Grey-headed Albatross is doing worse Photograph by Marienne de Villiers Meanwhile, decisions to down-list two other ACAP-listed species, the White-capped Albatross *T. steadi* (currently [Near Threatened](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=31008)) and White-chinned Petrel *Procellaria aequinoctialis* ([Vulnerable](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3922)) are being held over until next year.  A further ACAP-listed species, the currently [Near Threatened](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3925) Grey Petrel *P. cinerea*, has been proposed for down-listing but as yet no decision to review the species has been taken by BirdLife International. [Click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1500-final-decisions-on-changes-to-the-threatened-status-of-several-acap-listed-albatrosses-and-petrels-released-by-birdlife-international) for an earlier news item on the recategorization of ACAP-listed albatrosses and petrels *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 04 December 2013* *A dispute exists between the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (Islas Georgias del Sur y Islas Sandwich del Sur) and the surrounding maritime areas.  [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/varying-fortunes-black-browed-and-black-footed-albatrosses-are-no-longer-globally-threatened-but-the-grey-headed-albatross-is-now-considered-endangered.md) ## Less than two years to go to the Second World Seabird Conference in Cape Town, South Africa The [Second World Seabird Conference](http://www.worldseabirdconference.com/2nd-world-seabird-conference/)  with the overall theme “Seabirds: Global Ocean Sentinels” will be held in Cape Town, South Africa at the Cape Town International Conference Centre ([CTCC](http://www.cticc.co.za/)) over Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2015. WSC 2 will be hosted by the African Seabird Group and the [World Seabird Union](http://www.seabirds.net/).  The Local Organizing Committee is being chaired by Ross Wanless ([BirdLife South Africa](http://www.birdlife.org.za/)'s Seabird Division Manager and African Seabird Group Chair).  The Scientific Programme Committee Chair is [Peter Ryan](http://www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za/docs/peter.html) ([FitzPatrick Institute](http://www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za/), University of Cape Town). [Click here](http://www.seabirds.net/world-seabird-conference.html) to see who will be chairing travel, fund-raising, student and other committees.  ACAP's Information Officer serves on the local committee. Information on registration and on the submission of abstracts will be posted to the [conference web site](http://www.worldseabirdconference.com/2nd-world-seabird-conference/) during the course of next year.  In the meantime you can view the [First Circular](http://www.worldseabirdconference.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/2nd-World-Seabird-Conference-1st-Circular.pdf) for the conference that lists tentative session topics and legacy projects. The [First World Seabird Conference](http://www.worldseabirdconference.com/past-conferences/) was held in in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada in September 2010 with over 800 registered attendees from over 50 countries. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/W/Wandering/Wandering_Albatross_by_John_Cooper.jpg) A 28-year old male Wandering Albatross*Diomedea exulans* guards its chick near Prinsloomeer on South Africa's Marion Island on 17 April 2005; the bird was banded as a chick on 2 November 1976 Photograph by John Cooper WSC 2 is supported by the African Seabird Group, American Bird Conservancy, Argentine Seabird Group, Australasian Seabird Group, BirdLife International, Birds Caribbean, Global Seabird Programme, Circumpolar Seabird Group (CBird), Dutch Seabird Group, European Seabirds at Sea Group, Indian Ocean Seabird Group, Japan Seabird Group, Medmaravis, NW Atlantic Marine Bird Cooperative, Ornithological Society of New Zealand, Pacific Seabird Group, Peruvian Association for the Conservation of Nature, Royal Naval Birdwatching Society, The Seabird Group, The Waterbird Society and Waterbird Conservation of the Americas. The CTCC is a multi-purpose venue offering an array of services, playing host to global conferences, trade shows, concerts and stage productions.  It is situated close to the harbour within the city and below the [Table Mountain National Park](http://www.sanparks.co.za/parks/table_mountain/conservation/heritage.php), part of a World Heritage Natural Site.  A number of hotels are within walking distance.  A block of rooms at the [Westin Cape Town](http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1445&language=en_US&localeCode=en_US) has been reserved for conference delegates. Cape Town’s [Victoria & Albert Waterfron](http://www.waterfront.co.za/)t with its many restaurants and tourist shops is close by the CTCC.  In Table Bay lies [Robben Island](http://www.robben-island.org.za/), home of the infamous Apartheid prison (and an African Penguin *Spheniscus demersus* colony) but now a museum and also a World Heritage Site.  Within half an hour lies the world-famous [Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden](http://www.sanbi.org/gardens/kirstenbosch), included within the [Cape Floral Region Protected Areas World Heritage Site](http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1007).  I could go on about the [Mother City](http://www.capetown.travel/): wine farms, pelagic tours for albatrosses, sandy beaches, mountain walks, and much more! *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 03 December 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/less-than-two-years-to-go-to-the-second-world-seabird-conference-in-cape-town-south-africa.md) ## A translocation exercise to establish a second Chatham Albatross colony gets funded The [Chatham Island Taiko Trust](http://www.taiko.org.nz/) announced last week it has received funding to transfer [ACAP-listed](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/resources/acap-species2) and [Vulnerable](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3963) Chatham Albatrosses *Thalassarche eremita* to New Zealand’s Main Chatham Island with the aim of establishing a second breeding colony. Albatross chicks will be taken from the species’ only current breeding site on [The Pyramid](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1315-acap-breeding-sites-no-9-the-pyramid-chatham-islands-new-zealand) to a site on the privately-owned Tuku Farm near Point Gap on Chatham where they will be hand-fed until fledging ([click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1525-planning-for-a-chatham-island-albatross-translocation-project-well-underway) to read details of the project plans). Over a period of three summers, chicks will be collected from The Pyramid at two different stages during the breeding season and transferred via boat to the release site.  Chicks will be fed and monitored daily until fledging in three to four months’ time.  Fledged chicks could start returning to the colony at the age of four, and begin breeding at the age of seven. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/C/Chatham/Chatham Albatross Lorna Deppe 2 shrunk.jpg) Chatham Albatrosses breeding on The Pyramid, photograph by Lorna Deppe The project is already underway with over 20 models of Chatham Albatrosses made to place at the chosen tranlocation site in the hope of attracting free-flying birds to visit.  ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/C/Chatham/Chatham Albatross models Taiko Trust.jpg)  Model Chatham Albatrosses ready for deployment Photograph courtesy of the Chatham Island Taiko Trust This is the first time a translocation exercise for albatrosses is to be attempted outside the North Pacific where pioneering work has been undertaken on Black-footed *Phoebastria nigripes*, Laysan *P. immutabilis* and Short-tailed *P. albatrus* albatrosses by Japan and the USA working together over the last decade ([click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1575-no-mucking-about-on-mukojima-translocated-short-tailed-albatrosses-do-just-as-well-as-those-naturally-reared)).  Team members from Japan’s Yamashina Institute of Ornithology will be supporting the New Zealand translocation effort in its first year, this ensuring the transfer of necessary expertise and making the exercise an international one. “Established in 1998, the Chatham Islands Taiko Trust was originally created to conserve the endangered taiko [[Magenta Petrel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magenta_Petrel) *Pterodroma magentae*] as an integral part of the Chatham Island landscape.  Over the years, the Trust has expanded its conservation aims to provide the Chatham Island community with the opportunity and tools needed to enhance natural habitats and preserve other unique wildlife on their islands.” **Selected references:** Bell, M. 2012.  [*Albatross translocation.  Gaining experience to developing methods to transfer albatross chicks in the Chatham Islands.  A report on a study trip supported by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.*](http://www.communitymatters.govt.nz/vwluResources/WCMT_Mike%20Bell_report_Final/$file/WCMT_Mike%20Bell_report_Final.pdf)  16 pp. Deguchi, T., Jacobs, J., Harada, T., Perriman, L., Watanabe, Y., Sato, F., Nakamura, N., Ozaki, K. & Balogh, G. 2012.  Translocation and hand-rearing techniques for establishing a colony of threatened albatross.  [*Bird Conservation International*](http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8503026). Deguchi, T., Suryan, R.M., Ozaki, K., Jacobs, J.F., Sato, F., Nakamura, N. & Balogh, G.R. 2013.  Translocation and hand-rearing of the short-tailed albatross *Phoebastria albatrus*: early indicators of success for species conservation and island restoration.  *[Oryx The International Journal of Conservation](http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=9068695&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S0030605313000094)*. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 2 December 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/a-translocation-exercise-to-establish-a-second-chatham-albatross-colony-gets-funded.md) ## ACAP Breeding Site No. 53. Laurie Island, South Orkney Islands: Southern Giant Petrels in the cold [Laurie Island](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurie_Island) is the second largest and easternmost of themaritime Antarctic[South Orkney Islands](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Orkney_Islands) (after [Coronation Island](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronation_Island)).  The island group lies south of 60°S and thus falls within the area of the [Antarctic Treaty](http://www.ats.aq/e/ats.htm) (where national claims to territory remain frozen).  The seas around the South Orkneys are ice-covered from late April to November. [Cape Geddes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Geddes) and [Watson Peninsula](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watson_Peninsula), situated on the northern coast of the mainly ice-covered island, both support breeding groups of Southern Giant Petrels *Macronectes giganteus* making their nests on ice-free ground.  Overall, 419 breeding pairs were counted on Laurie Island in the 1994/95 season, 467 pairs in 2005/06 and 624 in 2010/11, suggesting a population increase over time. **Cape Geddes** Southern Giant Petrels breed in scattered groups of varying sizes at Cape Geddes.  The species was first reported breeding at the locality in 1908 when the species was described as abundant.  Two hundred nests were reported for 1946.  Totals of 159 active nests were counted during the 1985/86 season, 162 nests in 1991/92, 228 in January 1994 (1993/94), 184 in 1994/95 and 187 in 2005/06. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/S/Southern_Giant/Cape Geddes Group A Nestor Coria.jpg) ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/S/Southern_Giant/Cape Geddes Group B Nestor Coria.jpg) Cape Geddes falls within the 113-ha [Ferguslie Peninsula](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferguslie_Peninsula) Important Bird Area ([IBA](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sitefactsheet.php?id=29437)), because of its large numbers of breeding Chinstrap Penguins *Pygoscelis antarctica*.   ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/S/Southern_Giant/Cape Geddes Group D Nestor Coria.jpg)   ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/S/Southern_Giant/Cape Geddes Group E Nestor Coria.jpg) ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/S/Southern_Giant/Cape Geddes Group F Nestor_Coria.jpg) **Watson Peninsula** Estimates or counts of Southern Giant Petrels have been reported for 1904 (100 pairs?), 1993/04 (230 active nests), 1994/95 (235 active nests) and 280 pairs in 2005/06.  The peninsula has also been categorized as an [IBA](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sitefactsheet.php?id=29477) with an area of 187 ha because of its large Chinstrap Penguin population. The Argentinean research station [Orcadas Base](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orcadas_Base) lies 9 km to the south-west of Cape Geddes; it is the oldest permanently inhabited base in the Antarctic region, established in 1904. [Click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1408-acap-breeding-sites-no-32-signy-island-south-orkney-islands-where-both-white-and-dark-phase-southern-giant-petrels-breed) for the ACAP Breeding Site account for Signy Island in the South Orkneys where 2351 pairs bred in 2005/06. With thanks to Néstor Coria for information and for photographs of the giant petrel colonies at Cape Geddes. **Selected References:** Coria, N.R., Blendinger, P.G. & Montalti, D. 1996.  The breeding birds of Cape Geddes, Laurie Island, South Orkney Islands, Antarctica.  [*Marine Ornithology* 24: 43-44](http://marineornithology.org/PDF/24/24_9.pdf). Coria, N.R., Montalti, D., Rombola, E.F., Santos, M.M., Garcia Betoño, M.I. & Juares, M.A. 2011.  Birds at Laurie Island, South Orkney Islands, Antarctica: breeding species and their distribution.  [*Marine Ornithology* 39: 207-213](http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/39_2/39_2_207-213.pdf). Harris, C.M., Carr, R., Lorenz, K. & Jones, S. 2011.  [Important Bird Areas in Antarctica: Antarctic Peninsula, South Shetland Islands, South Orkney Islands - Final Report](http://www.era.gs/resources/iba/IBA%20Antarctic%20Peninsula%20Final%20Report%20rev1%2026August2011.pdf).  Cambridge: Environmental Research & Assessment Ltd.  225 pp. Patterson, D.L., Woehler, E.J., Croxall, J.P., Cooper, J., Poncet, S., Peter, H.-U., Hunter, S. & Fraser, W.R. 2008.  Breeding distribution and population status of the Northern Giant Petrel *Macronectes halli* and Southern Giant Petrel *M. giganteus*.  *[Marine Ornithology](http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/36_2/36_2_115-124.pdf) *[36: 115-124](http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/36_2/36_2_115-124.pdf). [Click here](http://www.marineornithology.org/abs/36_2/36_2_115-124_appendices.pdf) for the paper's separate appendices with historical count data. Shirihai, H. 2007.  *A Complete Guide to Antarctic Wildlife.  The Birds and Marine Mammals of the Antarctic Continent and the Southern Ocean*.  London: A & C Black.  pp. 447-449. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 01 December 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/acap-breeding-site-no-53-laurie-island-south-orkney-islands.md) ## No such thing as a completely bad relationship? Same-sex pairing in Laysan Albatrosses can be adaptive Lindsay Young and Eric Vanderwerf ([Pacific Rim Conservation](http://www.pacificrimconservation.com/), Oahu, Hawaii, USA) have studied female-female pairs in Laysan Albatrosses *Phoebastria immutabilis* within the [Kaena Point Natural Area Reserve](http://www.state.hi.us/dlnr/dofaw/kaena/) on Oahu Their findings have been published online and open access in the *[Proceedings of the Royal Society Biological Sciences](http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/)*. The paper’s abstract follows: “Same-sex pairing is widespread among animals but is difficult to explain in an evolutionary context because it does not result in reproduction, and thus same-sex behaviour often is viewed as maladaptive.  Here, we compare survival, fecundity and transition probabilities of female Laysan albatross in different pair types, and we show how female–female pairing could be an adaptive alternative mating strategy, albeit one that resulted in lower fitness than male–female pairing.  Females in same-sex pairs produced 80% fewer chicks, had lower survival and skipped breeding more often than those in male–female pairs.  Females in same-sex pairs that raised a chick sometimes acquired a male mate in the following year, but females in failed same-sex pairs never did, suggesting that males exert sexual selection by assessing female quality and relegating low-quality females into same-sex pairs.  Sexual selection by males in a monomorphic, non-ornamented species is rare and suggests that reconsideration is needed of the circumstances in which alternative reproductive behaviour evolves.  Given the lack of males and obligate biparental care in this species, this research demonstrates how same-sex pairing was better than not breeding and highlights how it could be an adaptive strategy under certain demographic conditions.” With thanks to Pacific Rim Conservation for information. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/L/Laysan/Laysan Albatross Kaena Point Lindsay Young 3 shrunk.jpg) A Laysan Albatross flies over Kaena Point, photograph by Lindsay Young **Reference:** Young, L.C. & VanderWerf, E.A. 2013.  Adaptive value of same-sex pairing in Laysan albatross.  [*Proceedings of the Royal Society Biological Sciences*  doi:10.1098/rspb.2013.2473.](http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/281/1775/20132473.full) *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 30 November 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/no-such-thing-as-a-completely-bad-relationship-same-sex-pairing-in-laysan-albatrosses-can-be-adaptive.md) ## No mucking about on Mukojima: translocated Short-tailed Albatrosses do just as well as those naturally reared Tomohiro Deguchi ([Yamashina Institute for Ornithology](http://www.yamashina.or.jp/hp/english/), Division of Avian Conservation, Chiba, Japan) and Japanese and USA colleagues write in the journal [*Oryx*](http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=ORX)on the results of their pioneering translocation and hand-feeding of Short-tailed Albatross *Phoebastria albatrus* chicks in an attempt to establish a new breeding colony on Mukojima Island. The paper’s abstract follows: “Many endemic species, particularly those on remote islands, have been driven to extinction or near extinction by anthropogenic influences.  The short-tailed albatross *Phoebastria albatrus* once numbered in the millions but was thought to be extinct by the mid 20th century.  Albatrosses, of the family Diomedeidae, are among the most threatened birds globally as a result of commercial exploitation, introduced predators, and mortality in commercial fisheries.  We applied an experimental approach over 5 years to evaluate the translocation and hand-rearing of albatross chicks by comparing growth, physiological health indices, post-fledging survival, and migration patterns with a control group of naturally reared chicks in the source population.  Hand-reared chicks had comparable or superior health and similar rates of immediate post-fledging mortality (15%), with mortality strongly female-biased in both groups.  Hand-reared birds had longer post-fledging drift periods before attaining sustained flight (also female-biased) but comparable, albeit somewhat wider ranging, migration patterns to naturally reared chicks during their first 6 months at sea.  Recruitment to the translocation site of a breeding pair that included a hand-reared bird occurred within 5 years of the first translocation.  Success will ultimately depend on continued recruitment and breeding over the coming decades, given delayed breeding in these long-lived species.  The results to date, however, have exceeded initial expectations and can inform potential reintroductions of other long-lived, migratory avian species with strong natal philopatry, and reintroductions of native species to former breeding islands.” ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/S/Short_tailed/short-tailed_albatross_hand_reared chicks_by_tomohiro_deguchi.jpg) Translocated Short-tailed Albatross chicks get fat among adult decoys on Mukojima Island; photograph by Tomohiro Deguchi With thanks to Tomohiro Deguchi. **Reference:** Deguchi, T., Suryan, R.M., Ozaki, K., Jacobs, J.F., Sato, F., Nakamura, N. & Balogh, G.R. 2013.  Translocation and hand-rearing of the short-tailed albatross Phoebastria albatrus: early indicators of success for species conservation and island restoration.  [*Oryx The International Journal of Conservation*](http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=9068695&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S0030605313000094)****.**** * John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 29 November 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/no-mucking-about-on-mukojima-translocated-short-tailed-albatrosses-do-just-as-well-as-those-naturally-reared.md) ## Discards for dessert! Contribution of fishery waste to the diet of the Black-browed Albatross during the non-breeding season shown by isotope analysis Rocío Mariano-Jelicich ([Grupo Vertebrados](http://mardelplata-conicet.gov.ar/IIMYC.php), Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras CONICET – UNMdP, Mar del Plata, Argentina) and colleagues from the same institution have looked at the contribution of fishery discards to the diet of Black-browed Albatrosses *Thalassarche melanophris* during the non-breeding in the South Atlantic.  Their findings have been published recently in the online version of the journal [*Marine Biology*](http://link.springer.com/journal/227). The paper's English abstract follows: “Black-browed albatrosses (*Thalassarche melanophris*) disperse over the Argentinean Continental Shelf and neighboring waters during their non-breeding season.  It is one of the most frequent seabirds attending fishing vessels and also the most common Procellariform [sic] in the bycatch of longliners and trawlers in the area.  Understanding the use of fishery discards by this species is an important issue when assessing the potential effect of strategic discard management in decreasing the abundance, interactions, and mitigating mortality.  In the present study, we analyzed carbon and nitrogen stable isotope compositions in the blood of Black-browed albatrosses to assess the relative contribution of discards from different fisheries to the diet of this species in winter.  Samples were obtained in winter 2011 from fishing vessels operating between 41–43°S and 57–59°W.  No sex differences in δ13C and δ15N were observed.  Results indicate that during their nonbreeding season, isotopic signatures of Black-browed albatrosses are closer to discards and offal generated by fisheries and in particular by trawlers.  The large fishing effort of trawl fisheries in Argentina highlights the urgency of an exhaustive analysis to find practical and effective ways to reduce the number of seabirds attending trawlers”. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/B/Black_browed/black-browed_albatross_trawler3_graham_parker.jpg) Black-browed Albatrosses gather behind a trawler in the South Atlantic Photograph by Graham Parker **Reference:** Mariano-Jelicich, R., Copello, S., Seco Pon, J.P. & Favero, M. 2013. Contribution of fishery discards to the diet of the Black-browed Albatross (*Thalassarche melanophris*) during the non-breeding season: an assessment through stable isotopes analysis.  [*Marine Biology* DOI 10.1007/s00227-013-2320-7](http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00227-013-2320-7). *Juan Pablo Seco Pon, South American ACAP News Correspondent, 28 November 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/discards-for-dessert-contribution-of-fishery-waste-to-the-diet-of-the-black-browed-albatross-during-the-non-breeding-season.md) ## ACAP Breeding Sites No. 52: Candlemas and Zavodovski Islands support Southern Giant Petrels among Antarctic fire and ice The maritime Antarctic [South Sandwich Islands](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Sandwich_Islands#South_Sandwich_Islands) (Islas Sandwich del Sur)* consist of an arc about 400 km in length of 11 little-visited islands in the South Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean south of the Antarctic Polar Front.  The islands are usually ice-bound in winter. Known especially for its very large penguin populations the island chain has been designated an [Important Bird Area](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sitesearchresults.php?cty=195&fam=0&gen=0). Over the period 1 January – 5 February 2011 biologists landed from rubber inflatable boats from the motor yacht *Golden Fleece* on 10 of the 11 main islands in the group with the aim of surveying the populations of penguins of several species (including by use of satellite imagery) and of other breeding birds on the islands ([click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/news-archive/24-2011-news-archive/946-counting-breeding-southern-giant-petrels-by-yacht-on-islands-in-the-maritime-antarctic)). Although observed throughout the islands in 2011, breeding Southern Giant Petrels *Macronectes giganteus* (the only ACAP-listed species) were recorded on only two islands: [Zavodovski](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zavodovski_Island) (at 25 km² the most northerly in the group and mainly free of ice) and [Candlemas](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candlemas_Island) (Candelaria, partially ice-covered at 14 km²).  Both islands support intermittently active volcanoes with their highest peaks at 550 m.  Breeding sites could thus be at risk to future eruptions.  Vegetation is restricted mainly to mosses and lichens and to a single vascular species ([Antarctic Hair Grass](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deschampsia_antarctica) *Deschampsia antarctica*) on Candlemas. Both islands have always been uninhabited, although Zavodovski currently supports an automatic weather station operated by South Africa. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Zavodovski 1 Andy Black s.jpg) Zavodovski from the *Golden Fleece* anchored off Fume Point.  A large Chinstrap Penguin *Pygoscelis antarctica colony* and the volcano cone that dominate the island are visible **Zavodovski Island** Small numbers of giant petrels were found breeding on the flat ash plains at the northern end of the island near Reek Point on 12 January 2011, making a total of 64 nests. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Zavodovski 2 Andy Black s.jpg) Small groups of Southern Giant Petrels breed on the ash plain in the north of Zavodovski **Candlemas Island** Two Southern Giant Petrel colonies were surveyed on 17 and 19 January 2011 with a total of 1818 occupied nests, divided roughly between 1682 nests encountered in scattered groups on the northern Breakbones Plateau and 136 nests in the south-west of the island. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Candlemas 1 Andy Black s.jpg) ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Candlemas 2 Andy Black s.jpg)  ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Candlemas 3 Andy Black s.jpg) Three views of Candlemas Island from the sea The most recent previous counts of breeding Southern Giant Petrels in the South Sandwich Islands (Islas Sandwich del Sur)* were of 1516 pairs on Candlemas and 25 pairs on Zavodovski in January 1997.  The 2011 total of 1882 is higher than that of the 1996/1997 breeding season but should not be taken as necessarily reflecting a population change.  However, it should be noted that at the time of the survey in mid-January many giant petrels were brooding small chicks.  Although the surveys conducted were as thorough as possible in the limited time available ashore the lateness of the season means that pairs that failed during incubation were not recorded. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/S/Southern_Giant/Candlemas 8 Andy Black s.jpg) ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/S/Southern_Giant/Candlemas 7 Andy Black s.jpg) Southern Giant Petrels were found breeding within lava boulder rubble on Candelmas   ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/S/Southern_Giant/Candlemas 10 Andy Black s.jpg) A Southern Giant Petrel broods its downy chick on Candelmas Island Southern Giant Petrels were seen ashore on Bellingshausen Island in what looked like suitable habitat but no evidence of breeding was found.  White-morph Southern Giant Petrels were seen at several sites, with a small percentage (3-5%) of breeding birds at Candlemas being of this morph. Northern Giant Petrels *M. halli* were recorded ashore and in coastal waters of all the islands, frequently observed scavenging and preying upon penguins.  The largest number recorded was 25 birds at Irving Point on Visokoi Island.  No breeding was observed within the island group, nor has it been previously. [Click here](http://www.sgisland.gs/index.php/%28h%29Seabird_and_marine_mammal_surveys) to read more about the 2011 survey. All photographs by Andy Black. **Selected References:** Baker, P.E., Holdgate, M.W., Longton, R.E., Tilbrook, P.J., Tomblin, J.F., Vaughan, R.W. &  Wynne- Edwards, C.J.C. 1964.  A survey of the South Sandwich Islands.  *Nature* 203: 691-693. Convey, P., Lewis Smith, R.I., Hodgson, D.A. & Peat, H.J. 2000.  The flora of the South Sandwich Islands, with particular reference to the influence of geothermal heating.  [*Journal of Biogeography* 27: 1279-1295](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1365-2699.2000.00512.x/abstract;jsessionid=49B308EA4F16414289514D58B00E5E1C.f01t04?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&userIsAuthenticated=false). Convey, P., Morton, A. & Poncet, J. 1999.  Survey of marine birds and mammals of the South Sandwich Islands.  [*Polar Record* 35: 107-194](http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=5423024&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S0032247400026450). Holdgate, M.W. 1963.  Observations in the South Sandwich Islands, 1962.  [*Polar Record* 11: 394-405](http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=5644404&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S0032247400053511). Holdgate. M.W. & Baker, P.E. 1979.  The South Sandwich Islands, I. General description.  *British Antarctic Survey Report* No. 91. Lynch, H.J., White, R.W., Black, A.D. & Naveen, R. 2012.  Detection, differentiation and abundance estimation of penguin species by high-resolution satellite imagery.  [*Polar Biology* 35: 963-968](http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00300-011-1138-3). Lynch, H.J., White, R.W., Black, A.D. & Naveen, R. In preparation.  A biological survey of the South Sandwich Islands, 1 January – 5 February 2011. Patterson, D.L., Woehler, E.J., Croxall, J.P., Cooper, J., Poncet, S., Peter, H.-U., Hunter, S. & Fraser, W.R. 2008.  Breeding distribution and population status of the Northern Giant Petrel *Macronectes halli* and Southern Giant Petrel *M. giganteus*.  *[Marine Ornithology](http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/36_2/36_2_115-124.pdf)* [36: 115-124](http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/36_2/36_2_115-124.pdf). [Click here](http://www.marineornithology.org/abs/36_2/36_2_115-124_appendices.pdf) for the paper's separate appendices with historical count data. Poncet, S. 2006.  South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.  In: Sanders, S.M. (Ed.).  *Important Bird Areas in the United Kingdom Overseas Territories*.  Sandy: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.  pp. 211-226. Shirihai, H. 2007.  *A Complete Guide to Antarctic Wildlife.  The Birds and Marine Mammals of the Antarctic Continent and the Southern Ocean*.  London: A & C Black.  pp. 449-451. *Andy Black, South Georgia (Islas Georgias del Sur)* & John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 26 November 2013* *A dispute exists between the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (Islas Georgias del Sur y Islas Sandwich del Sur) and the surrounding maritime areas. [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/acap-breeding-sites-no-52-candlemas-and-zavodovski-islands-support-southern-giant-petrels-among-antarctic-fire-and-ice.md) ## Dragonflies at sea. A New Zealand company maps the at-sea distribution of seabirds seen from fishing vessels [Dragonfly Science](https://www.dragonfly.co.nz/), a specialist data analysis company based in Wellington, New Zealand has released a [public website](http://data.dragonfly.co.nz/seabird-counts/) that maps the distribution of New Zealand seabirds (including ACAP-listed albatrosses and petrels) as recorded by government observers on board commercial fishing vessels.  Maps for each species or species group can be obtained for each year and season since 2004, and all the data can be downloaded for potential analysis. “New Zealand is a global centre of seabird diversity, with over 80 species breeding either on the mainland or on offshore islands.  Seabirds are caught during both commercial and recreational fishing, and for some species these fatalities may threaten the viability of the populations.  Little is known about the distribution of seabirds in New Zealand waters.  Since 2004, government fisheries observers have carried out regular counts of the numbers of seabirds around fishing vessels. These data will allow a greater understanding of the interactions between seabirds and fishing vessels, which in turn will help in the management of fishing to reduce seabird bycatch.” ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/N/Northern_Royal/Northern_Royal_Albatross_500th_chick_by_Lyndon_Perriman.jpg) A Northern Royal Albatross guards its chick at Taiaroa Head Photograph by Lyndon Perriman [Click here](https://www.dragonfly.co.nz/publications.html) to access publications on interactions between seabirds and fisheries by Dragonfly Science.  [Click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1478-the-northern-royal-albatross-at-taiaroa-head-new-zealand-get-their-demography-studied) for a news item on Dragonfly Science’s 2013 report on the demography of Northern Royal Albatrosses *Diomedea sanfordi* at Taiaroa Head. With thanks to Yvan Richard, Dragonfly Science for information. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 22 November 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/dragonflies-at-sea-a-new-zealand-company-maps-the-at-sea-distribution-of-seabirds-seen-from-fishing-vessels.md) ## ACAP Breeding Site No. 51. Prion Island, where tourists can view Wandering Albatrosses from a boardwalk [Prion Island](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prion_Island) lies in the Bay of Isles towards the west end of South Georgia (Islas Georgias del Sur)*.  The 34-ha island is a little over one kilometre long and about 500 m wide.  A 50-m high central plateau runs the length of the northern half, flanked by slopes that descend to 15-25-m high sea cliffs on both the east and west coasts.  Prion Island is a site of exceptional conservation value, classed as a Specially Protected Area (SPA), and one of the few rodent-free tussac islands along the north-east coast of South Georgia (Islas Georgias del Sur)*. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Prion Island Kirk Zufelt s.jpg) Prion Island, phootgraph by Kirk Zufelt ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Prion Island Sally Poncet s.jpg)  A Wandering Albatross pair on Prion Island, with the *Golden Fleece* at anchor and the Outer Lee Island and the main island beyond Photograph by Sally Poncet ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Prion Island boardwalk and people Anton Wolfaardt s.jpg)  Photograph by Sally Poncet  ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Prion Sally Poncet s.jpg) Two views of the tourist boardwalk on Prion Island Photograph by Anton Wolfaardt The island is mostly covered in dense Tussac Grass *Parodiochloa flabellata*and many of the slopes are honey-combed with burrows occupied by ACAP-listed White-chinned Petrels *Procellaria aequinoctialis* as well as by Antarctic Prions *Pachyptila desolata* and Common Diving Petrels *Pelecanoides urinatrix*. Four other ACAP-listed species breed on Prion Island: Wandering Albatross *Diomedea exulans*, Light-mantled Sooty Albatross *Phoebetria palpebrata*and Southern *Macronectes giganteus* and Northern *M. halli* Giant Petrels. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Wanderer Prion Island scenic Anton Wolfaardt s.jpg) A Wanderer on its nest on Prion Island, with the main island behind Phootgraph by Anton Wolfaardt ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/SGP Prion Island Anton Wolfaardt s.jpg) A Southern Giant Petrel on Prion Island, photograph by Anton Wolfaardt Most of the Wandering Albatross breed on the central plateau, while the lower slopes have become the haunt of increasing numbers of Antarctic Fur Seals *Arctocephalus gazella* in recent years.  Disturbance by fur seals may be a potential threat to albatross breeding success, particularly in the early stages of egg-laying and when chicks are hatching.  In order to assess this threat, an annual research programme on Prion Island (and on nearby Albatross Island) initiated in 1999 monitors fur seal distribution and Wanderer numbers and chick survival ([click here](http://www.sgisland.gs/download/2010%20Alb%20and%20Prion%20annual%20report_screen.pdf)). In January 2013 counts revealed 29 pairs of Wandering Albatrosses (down from an estimated 60 in 1984 and 40 in 1999 when annual monitoring commenced), 38 pairs of Southern Giant Petrels and 46 pairs of Northern Giant Petrels breeding on Prion Island.  Up to 14 occupied nests of Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses have been counted in one part of the island.  White-chinned Petrels are not monitored due to fears of trampling effects on this burrow-nesting species: several hundred burrows are present. Prion Island is a popular site for tourists travelling on cruise ships and yachts ([click here](http://www.sgisland.gs/download/visitors/South%20Georgia%20Tourism%20Management%20Policy%202013.pdf) for the tourism management policy document for South Georgia (Islas Georgias del Sur)*). Visitors are restricted to a designated landing beach and to a 300-m long boardwalk (built in 2008) that runs from the landing beach to a viewing platform on a hilltop that overlooks the Wandering Albatross breeding area with usually several nests in view.  The island is closed to tourists between 20 November and 7 January to prevent disturbance to breeding fur seals on the landing beach.  Visits are limited to two a day with a maximum of 50 people ashore at any time for not more five hours as set out in the Code of Conduct for visits to Prion Island ([Annex 2](http://www.sgisland.gs/download/visitors/Information%20for%20Visitors%20to%20South%20Georgia%202013-14.pdf) in the Information for Visitors document). Thorough biosecurity checks are carried out prior to landing, particularly for rodents, and visit reports from each tourist vessel are required ([click here](http://www.sgisland.gs/index.php/(d)Biosecurity?useskin=edu)). [Click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1339-acap-breeding-sites-no-16-bird-island-south-atlantic-where-albatrosses-and-petrels-have-been-studied-for-decades) for the ACAP Breeding Site account for Bird Island, part of South Georgia (Islas Georgias del Sur)*.  With thanks to Anton Wolfaardt and Kirk Zufelt for photographs.  **Selected References:** Burton, R. 2005.  *South Georgia*.  Second Edition.  [Stanley]: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.  48 pp. Burton, R. & Croxall, J.P. (Eds). 2012.  *A Field Guide to the Wildlife of South Georgia*.  Princeton: Princeton University Press.  [WILDGuides](http://www.wildguides.co.uk) & South Georgia Heritage Trust.  200 pp. Croxall, J.P., Prince, P.A., Rothery, P. & Wood, A.G. 1998.  Population changes in albatrosses at South Georgia.  In: Robertson, G. & Gales, R. (Eds).  *Albatross Biology and Conservation*.  Chipping Norton: Surrey Beatty and Sons.  pp. 69-83. Galbraith, D. 2011.  *A Field Guide to the Flora of South Georgia*.  Dundee: South Georgia Heritage Trust & [WILDGuides](http://www.wildguides.co.uk).  72 pp. Patterson, D.L., Woehler, E.J., Croxall, J.P., Cooper, J., Poncet, S., Peter, H.-U., Hunter, S. & Fraser, M.W. 2008.  Breeding distribution and population status of the Northern Giant Petrel *Macronectes halli* and Southern Giant Petrel *M. giganteus*.  [*Marine Ornithology* 36: 115-124](http://marineornithology.org/PDF/36_2/36_2_115-124.pdf). Martin, A.R., Poncet, S., Barbraud, C., Foster, E., Fretwell, P. & Rothery, P. 2009.  The white-chinned petrel (*Procellaria aequinoctialis*) on South Georgia: population size, distribution and global significance.  [*Polar Biology* 32: 655-661](http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00300-008-0570-5). McIntosch, E. & Walton, D.W.H. 2000.  *Environmental Management Plan for South Georgia*.  Cambridge: British Antarctic Survey.  105 pp. Pasteur, L. & Walton, D.W.H. 2006.  [*South Georgia: Plan for Progress.  Managing the Environment. 2006-2010*](http://www.sgisland.gs/index.php/(d)Plan_for_Progress?useskin=edu).  Cambridge: British Antarctic Survey: 74 pp. Poncet, S. 2006.  [South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands](http://www.sgisland.gs/download/South%20Georgia%20IBA%20Chapter.pdf).  In: Sanders, S.M. (Ed.).  *Important Bird Areas in the United Kingdom Overseas Territories*.  Sandy: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.  pp. 211-226. Poncet, S. & Crosbie, K. 2012.  [*A Visitor's Guide to South Georgia*](http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9848.html).  Second Edition.  Princeton: Princeton University Press.  184 pp. Poncet, S., Robertson, G., Phillips, R.A., Lawton, K., Phalan, B., Trathan, P.N. & Croxall, J.P. 2006.  Status and distribution of wandering, black-browed and grey-headed albatrosses at South Georgia.  [Polar Biology29: 772-781](http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00300-006-0114-9?LI=true#page-1). Wolfaardt, A. & Christie, D. 2010.  [*Guidelines for the implementation of the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) at South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands*](http://www.sgisland.gs/download/ACAP%20Implementation%20Plan%20SGSSI.pdf).  Stanley: Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.  51 pp. *Sally Poncet, South Georgia Surveys, Stanley, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)* & John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 25 November 2013* *A dispute exists between the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (Islas Georgias del Sur y Islas Sandwich del Sur) and the surrounding maritime areas. [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/acap-breeding-site-no-51-prion-island-where-tourists-can-view-wandering-albatrosses-from-a-boardwalk.md) ## New GPS loggers suggest the Wandering Albatross should be called the Dynamic Soaring Albatross Gottfried Sachs ([Institute of Flight System Dynamics, Technische Universität München](http://www.mw.tum.de/main.php?cid=907), Garching, Germany) and colleagues, writing in the [*Journal of Experimental Biology*](http://jeb.biologists.org/) have used GPS loggers to study dynamic soaring in Wandering Albatrosses *Diomedea exulans* from the Kerguelen Islands in fine detail ([click here](http://jeb.biologists.org/content/216/22/i.2)). The paper’s summary follows: “Dynamic soaring is a small-scale flight manoeuvre which is the basis for the extreme flight performance of albatrosses and other large seabirds to travel huge distances in sustained non-flapping flight.  As experimental data with sufficient resolution of these small-scale movements are not available, knowledge is lacking about dynamic soaring and the physical mechanism of the energy gain of the bird from the wind.  With new in-house developments of GPS logging units for recording raw phase observations and of a dedicated mathematical method for postprocessing these measurements, it was possible to determine the small-scale flight manoeuvre with the required high precision.  Experimental results from tracking 16 wandering albatrosses (Diomedea exulans) in the southern Indian Ocean show the characteristic pattern of dynamic soaring.  This pattern consists of four flight phases comprising a windward climb, an upper curve, a leeward descent and a lower curve, which are continually repeated. I t is shown that the primary energy gain from the shear wind is attained in the upper curve where the bird changes the flight direction from windward to leeward. As a result, the upper curve is the characteristic flight phase of dynamic soaring for achieving the energy gain necessary for sustained non-flapping flight.” ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/W/Wandering/wandering_albatross_pink_stain_john_chardine.jpg) Effortless flying: a Wandering Albatross at sea. Photograph by John Chardine [Click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/news-archive/57-2012-news-archive/1151-flying-at-no-mechanical-energy-cost-wandering-albatrosses-may-have-the-answer-for-robot-planes) to read of a related paper on Wandering Albatross flight by Gottfried Sachs and colleagues. **Reference:** Sachs, G., Traugott, J., Nesterova, A.P. & Bonadonna, F. 2013.  Experimental verification of dynamic soaring in albatrosses.  [*Journal of Experimental Biology* 216: 4222-4232](http://jeb.biologists.org/content/216/22/4222.abstract?sid=1fbf801b-9499-44e6-adf1-0253da38e322). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 24 November 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/new-gps-loggers-suggest-the-wandering-albatross-should-be-called-the-dynamic-soaring-albatross.md) ## Non-breeding Tristan Albatrosses tracked at sea are at risk to longline fisheries off southern Africa Timothy Reid ([FitzPatrick Institute](http://www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za/), University of Cape Town, South Africa) and colleagues have published in the journal [*Endangered Species Research*](http://www.int-res.com/journals/esr/esr-home/) on the non-breeding movements of Critically Endangered Tristan Albatrosses *Diomedea dabbenena* from Gough Island. The paper’s abstract follows: “The Tristan albatross *Diomedea dabbenena* is Critically Endangered: >99% of adults breed at Gough Island, central South Atlantic Ocean, where chicks are threatened by introduced predators.  At sea they mostly remain within the South Atlantic Ocean, where they are threatened by incidental capture in longline fisheries.  Conservation measures to reduce seabird mortality in pelagic longline fisheries are confined largely to fishing effort south of 25°S.  This covers the core range of breeding Tristan albatrosses, but the distribution of non-breeding adults and immature birds is unknown.  We tracked 14 non-breeding adult Tristan albatrosses from Gough Island for up to 3 yr, from 2004 to 2006, using geolocating loggers.  All birds remained in the South Atlantic or southern Indian Oceans, and showed distributions centred on the Sub-Tropical Convergence.  They used the SW Atlantic during the austral summer and the SE Atlantic and Indian Oceans as far east as Australia during the austral winter.  Foraging effort was concentrated in areas of upwelling and increased productivity.  The distribution of the tracked birds overlapped with a range of pelagic longline fisheries, especially off southern Africa.  Of particular concern was that 2 birds spent several months off the coast of Namibia and in adjacent high seas north of 25°S, where there are currently no regulations to prevent seabird bycatch during pelagic longline fishing operations.” ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/T/Tristan/tristan_albatross_c51_off_uruguay_martin_abreu.jpg)   At risk: a Tristan Albatross at sea behind a fishing vessel in the South Atlantic  Photograph by Martin Abreu The paper concludes: “[o]ur results suggest that current ICCAT [[International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas](http://www.iccat.int/en/)] seabird conservation measures should be extended north from 25 to 15°S in the area from 0°E to the Namibian coast”. **Reference:** Reid, T.A., Wanless, R.M., Hilton, G.M., Phillips, R.A. & Ryan, P.G. 2013.  Foraging range and habitat associations of non‑breeding Tristan albatrosses: overlap with fisheries and implications for conservation.  [*Endangered Species Research* 22:39-49](http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v22/n1/p39-49/). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 23 November 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/non-breeding-tristan-albatrosses-tracked-at-sea-are-at-risk-to-longline-fisheries-off-southern-africa.md) ## ACAP Breeding Site No. 50. Islas de los Estados and Observatorio, Argentina each support colonies of Southern Giant Petrels The [Isla de los Estados](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isla_de_los_Estados) (Staten Island) group comprises an archipelago belonging to Argentina with the main island of the same name, as well as Islas Año Nuevo, Islas Dampier, Islas Menzies and several smaller islets. The group lies some 30 km of the Argentinian coast of Tierra del Fuego in the South Atlantic. Southern Giant Petrels *Macronectes giganteus* are known to breed on two islands in the group.  The species was first described from a specimen collected in waters around Isla de los Estados by James Cook´s Second Expedition in January 1775. The archipelago is a “Reserva provincial ecológica, histórica y turística” (Historical, Environmental and Tourist Reserve) according to the Constitution of the Province of Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur. **Isla de los Estados** The main island of Isla de los Estados has an elongated shape about 65 km in length with maximum and minimum width of 16 km and 500 m, due to the existence of many fjords and bays.  Its area is 534 km² and maximum elevation is 823 m.  Its spectacular geography together with its forest vegetation made it a perfect refuge for sailors, sealers and whalers in the past.  The only settlement is a naval station manned by marines.   ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/Staten Island 3 Adrian Schiavini s.jpg)   Bahía San Antonio, Isla de los Estados   Isla de los Estados hosts a colony of ACAP-listed Southern Giant Petrels on Peninsula Lopez, at the south-western end of the island.  Their presence was first recorded in 1972 and observed several times in overflights of the island.  In December 2011 eight active nests were present. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Staten Island 2 Adrian Schiavini s.jpg) Península López, Isla de los Estados.  Southern Giant Petrels breed on top of the ridge ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Staten Island SGP colony Adrian Schiavini s.jpg)  Southern Giant Petrels breeding at Peninsula López Photograph by A. Raya Rey **Isla Observatorio** [Isla Observatorio](http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isla_Observatorio) is the largest island of the Islas Año Nuevo group.  It has an area of about 4 km² and a flat relief of no more than 60 m above sea level. The island has hosted a lighthouse since 1902 (now automatic) and held a magnetic and meteorological observatory during the first two decades of the last century.  Human presence has led to the introduction of exotic species such as the Black Rat *Rattus rattus* and the European Rabbit *Oryctolagus cuniculus*. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Staten Island 4 Adrian Schiavini s.jpg) Isla Observatorio from the air, showing the Año Nuevo lighthouse.  One of the main Southern Giant Petrel breeding sites is above and to the right of the lighthouse ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Staten Island 1 Adrian Schiavini s.jpg) Breeding area of Southern Giant Petrels on Isla Observatorio In the distance are other islands in the Islas Año Nuevo group and the main island of Isla de los Estados ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Staten Island Southerrn Giant Petrel Adrian Schiavini s.jpg) A Southern Giant Petrel on its nest on Isla Observatorio Isla Observatorio hosts a colony of Southern Giant Petrels.  In January 2004 500 active nests were present.  The birds breed in elevated areas on the island, in sectors characterized by shrubby vegetation with *Marsippospermum grandiflorum* and *Chilliotrichum diffusum* that provide some protection against the wind. All photographs by Adrián Schiavini unless stated. **Selected References:** Imshaug, H.A. 1972.  R/V Hero cruise 71-5 to Isla de los Estados.  *Antarctic Journal of the United States* 7(2): 42-44. Patterson, D.L., Woehler, E.J., Croxall, J.P., Cooper, J., Poncet, S., Peter, H.-U., Hunter, S. & Fraser, W.R. 2008.  Breeding distribution and population status of the Northern Giant Petrel *Macronectes halli* and Southern Giant Petrel *M. giganteus*.  *[Marine Ornithology](http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/36_2/36_2_115-124.pdf)* [36: 115-124](http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/36_2/36_2_115-124.pdf). [Click here](http://www.marineornithology.org/abs/36_2/36_2_115-124_appendices.pdf) for the paper's separate appendices with historical count data. Quintana F., Schiavini A. & Copello, S. 2005.  Estado poblacional, ecología y conservación del petrel gigante del sur (*Macronectes giganteus*) en Argentina. [*El Hornero* 20: 25-34](http://www.scielo.org.ar/scielo.php?pid=S0073-34072005000100003&script=sci_arttext&tlng=pt). Schiavini, A.C.M., Frere, E., Yorio, P. & Parera, A. 1999.  Las aves marinas de la Isla de los Estados, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina: revisión histórica, estado poblacional y problemas de conservación.  *Anales del Instituto de la Patagonia, Serie Ciencias Naturales (Chile)* 27: 25-40. Shirihai, H. 2007.  *A Complete Guide to Antarctic Wildlife.  The Birds and Marine Mammals of the Antarctic Continent and the Southern Ocean*.  London: A & C Black.  pp. 524-525. *Adrián Schiavini, Ecología y Conservación de Vida Silvestre, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC), Ushuaia, Argentina, 21 November 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/acap-breeding-site-no-50-islas-de-los-estados-and-observatorio-argentina-each-support-colonies-of-southern-giant-petrels.md) ## Changing fortunes revealed for several of New Zealand’s albatrosses under its domestic Threat Classification System New Zealand operates a domestic Threat Classification System for its indigenous taxa, including birds.  A report by Hugh Robertson and colleagues on the conservation status of New Zealand birds for 2012 has recently been released by the [Department of Conservation](http://www.doc.govt.nz), reflecting the changing fortunes of a number of species, including several ACAP-listed albatrosses. According to the New Zealand Threat Classification System Manual three categories of threat are used:  Nationally Critical, Nationally Endangered and Nationally Vulnerable. Edited extracts from the report’s summary dealing with procellariiform seabirds whose categories have changed since a previous review in 2008 follow (ACAP-listed species are in bold). The status of three procellariiform taxa worsened and they were shifted into the Nationally Critical category (the most threatened): Antipodean Albatross *Diomedea antipodensis antipodensis*, Gibson’s Albatross *Diomedea a. gibsoni* and Salvin’s Albatross *Thalassarche salvini*.  In contrast the Grey-headed Albatross*T. chrysostoma* has been moved to Nationally Vulnerable due to its improved situation. The New Zealand Storm Petrel *Pealeornis maoriana* was moved from the Data Deficient category to Nationally Endangered following the discovery of its breeding locality and more information on its likely population size.  The North Island Little Shearwater *Puffinus assimilis haurakiensis* improved from Relict to the At Risk - Recovering Category. Three procellariiform taxa were added to threatened categories for the first time: Antipodean Albatross, Flesh-footed Shearwater *Puffinus carneipes* (to Nationally Vulnerable) and the New Zealand Storm Petrel.  The shearwater has previously been identified as a potential candidate for ACAP listing. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/S/Salvins/Salvins Albatross Snares Paul Sagar 6.jpg) Salvin's Albatross on the Snares: now deemed Nationally Critical Photograph by Paul Sagar With thanks to Barry Baker for information. **References:** Miskelly, C.M., Dowding, J.E., Elliott, G.P., Hitchmough, R.A., Powlesland, R.G., Robertson, H.A., Sagar, P.M., Scofield, R.P. & Taylor, G.A. 2008.  Conservation status of New Zealand birds, 2008.  [*Notornis* 55: 117-135](http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/0904/Bird_conservation_status_2008.pdf). Robertson, H.A., Dowding, J.E., Elliott, G.P., Hitchmough, R.A., Miskelly, C.M., O’Donnell, C.F.J., Powlesland, R.G., Sagar, P.M., Scofield, P. & Taylor, G.A. 2013.  Conservation Status of New Zealand Birds, 2012.  [*New Zealand Threat Classification Series* No. 4](http://www.doc.govt.nz/Documents/science-and-technical/nztcs4entire.pdf).  Wellington: New Zealand Department of Conservation.  22 pp. Townsend, A.J., de Lange, P.J., Duffy, C.A.J., Miskelly, C.M., Molloy, J. & Norton, D.A. 2008.  *[New Zealand Threat Classification System Manual](http://www.doc.govt.nz/documents/science-and-technical/sap244.pdf).*  Wellington: New Zealand Department of Conservation.  35 pp. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 17 November 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/changing-fortunes-revealed-for-several-of-new-zealand-s-albatrosses-under-its-domestic-threat-classification-system.md) ## A Bycatch Mitigation Information System for the Pacific Ocean gets upgraded The Bycatch Mitigation Information System ([BMIS](http://www.wcpfc.int/bmis)) is operated by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission ([WCPFC](http://www.wcpfc.int/)) as a resource for fisheries managers, scientists, fishers and the general public.  The database is a central repository of information on the mitigation and management of bycatch (including of seabirds) in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO). “As used in the BMIS, "bycatch" mainly refers to those species of special interest, such as seabirds, sharks and marine turtles which are incidentally caught in WCPO fisheries targeting highly migratory species, including tuna and billfish.  Much of the information in the BMIS is relevant to bycatch mitigation in similar oceanic fisheries around the world.” The BMIS web interface has now been upgraded by the WCPFC with a new [web address](http://www.wcpfc.int/bmis). The BMIS includes references (scientific and technical literature); technical mitigation methods; decisions by WCPFC and other management bodies; and a list of target and bycatch species. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/L/Laysan/laysan_black-footed_midway_by_eric_vanderwerf.jpg) Both Black-footed and Laysan Albatrosses are at risk to fisheries in the Pacific Photograph by Eric Vanderwerf [Click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/news-archive/24-2011-news-archive/920-the-bycatch-mitigation-information-system-could-help-save-albatrosses-and-petrels-from-fisheries-induced-mortality) for an earlier news item in *ACAP Latest News* on the BMIS.  See also [Information Paper 5](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/documents/advisory-committee/cat_view/128-english/15-advisory-committee/413-ac7/425-ac7-information-papers) presented to the Seventh Meeting of ACAP’s Advisory Committee in 2013 on how the BMIC can support ACAP’s work. With thanks to Larissa Fitzsimmons, [Secretariat of the Pacific Community](http://www.spc.int/), Noumea, New Caledonia for information. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 20 November 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/a-bycatch-mitigation-information-system-for-the-pacific-ocean-gets-upgraded.md) ## Island Arks Symposium III to be held in Hobart, Tasmania next February Following on from the success of Island Arks [I](http://islandarks.com.au/island-ark-symposiums/island-ark-symposim-i/) and [II](http://islandarks.com.au/island-ark-symposiums/island-arks-symposium-ii/), [Island Arks Symposium II](http://islandarks.com.au/island-ark-symposiums/island-arks-symposium-iii/)I will be held in  the [Bahá’í Centre](http://www.tasbcl.com.au/), Hobart, Tasmania over 11 to 13 February 2014, with workshop sessions on the 14th. The symposium will focus on island ecosystems and ensuring their long-term protection and sustainability. The meeting is expected to bring together scientists, conservationists, land managers, decision makers, residents, and land custodians. Island Arks Symposium III has the following Sub-themes: Island translocations; Island restoration and reassembling island ecosystems; Indigenous island communities and indigenous conservation management; Island people and communities: entrepreneurship, economic development, conservation capabilities; Island conservation and protection- includes terrestrial and marine protected areas; Emerging threats to island conservation and communities; and New innovations and technologies for island research and management. Workshops will be held on Island Conservation Planning, Island Biosecurity, Island Translocations and Norfolk Island Conservation. [Field trips](http://islandarks.com.au/island-ark-symposiums/island-arks-symposium-iii/field-trips-island-arks-symposium-iii/) are planned for Tasmania's Maria Island and Tasman Island National Parks.  The latter island was the scene of a successful feral Domestic Cat *Felis catus*eradication programme in 2010, offering relief to its breeding shearwaters, diving petrels and prions ([click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1224-shearwaters-and-prions-are-doing-well-since-australias-tasman-island-was-cleared-of-its-feral-cats-in-2010)). ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Shearwaters/Short_tailed/short_tailed_shearwater_mark_carey.jpg) Short-tailed Shearwaters breed on Tasman Island With thanks to Justine Shaw for information. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 19 November 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/island-arks-symposium-iii-to-be-held-in-hobart-tasmania-next-february.md) ## Fierce feral or domestic darling? Cat predation on Cory’s Shearwaters on human-inhabited Corvo Island Sandra Hervías (Faculty of Veterinary, University of Murcia, Animal Health Department, Spain) and colleagues publishing in the *Journal of Zoology*have looked at the diets of both feral and domestic cats *Felis catus* on [Corvo Island](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corvo_Island) in the Portuguese Azores Archipelago. Cat predation on ACAP-candidate Cory’s Shearwater *Calonectris borealis* occurred mainly during the chick-rearing stage.  The authors consider that a “potential management option is to restrict cat ownership in human settlements that are too close to vulnerable native wildlife congregations such as seabird colonies.” The paper’s abstract follows: “Populations of feral (not owned by humans) and domestic cats *Felis catus* coexist in most inhabited islands, and they have similar impacts on native species.  Feral cats are generally believed to vary their diet according to prey availability; however, no previous studies of diet have tested this hypothesis on insular ecosystems with a limited range of available prey.  Because domestic cats kill prey independently of hunger, the spatial extent of their impact on wildlife will be influenced by home-range size.  In this study, we combined dietary information with cat movements to assess the impacts of feral and domestic cats on island biodiversity.  We quantified the diet of cats from scat samples collected across one year and tested whether diet varies by season.  The abundance of main prey categories was also estimated to document seasonal variation in prey availability for cats.  Finally, we tracked domestic cats by global positioning system units in all four seasons to examine whether home-range patterns varied seasonally.  The diet of cats constituted three prey groups (rodents, birds and invertebrates), and the seasonal variation in consumption of each taxon matched the seasonal variation in prey availability, thus supporting the generalist behaviour of cats on oceanic islands.  Roaming behaviour varied among individuals and across seasons, but could not be explained by availability of prey.  Unconfined cats had larger home-ranges than confined cats, but most domestic cats strayed <1 km from home.  Thus, confinement of domestic cats might reduce the spatial extent of cat impact on native prey populations on oceanic islands.” ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Shearwaters/Corys/corys_shearwater_paulo_catry.jpg) Cory's Shearwater, photographed by Paul Catry [Click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/news-archive/57-2012-news-archive/1236-influence-of-mice-rats-and-cats-on-nest-survival-of-corys-shearwaters) to read of a related paper by Sandra Hervías. With thanks to Barry Baker for information. **Reference:** Hervías, S. Oppel, S., Medina, F.M., Pipa, T., Díez, A., Ramos, J.A., Ruiz de Ybáñez, R. & Nogales, M. 2013.  Assessing the impact of introduced cats on island biodiversity by combining dietary and movement analysis.  [*Journal of Zoology* DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12082](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jzo.12082/abstract). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 18 November 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/fierce-feral-or-domestic-darling-cat-predation-on-cory-s-shearwaters-on-human-inhabited-corvo-island.md) ## A workshop to protect threatened seabirds in Taiwanese longline fisheries is underway this week Taiwanese longline[http://www.youtube.com/embed/zkDWi459YQk](http://www.youtube.com/embed/zkDWi459YQk) fishers attending a two-day workshop this week in Kaohsiung, Taiwan are considering best practices for reducing fishing’s impact on seabird populations, especially albatrosses.  The workshop aims to provide demonstrations of practical ways to mitigate the catch of these threatened birds, along with a discussion of how to safely implement techniques.  Expert presenters are addressing the importance of collecting and reporting data so that fishery managers have a better understanding of the impact fishing has on seabird populations. The [Taiwanese Fisheries Agency](http://www.birdlife.org/asia/partners/taiwan-chinese-wild-bird-federation-cwbf), [BirdLife International’s Global Seabird Program](http://www.birdlife.org/worldwide/programmes/seabird-and-marine)me and the [Chinese Wild Bird Federation](http://www.birdlife.org/asia/partners/taiwan-chinese-wild-bird-federation-cwbf) are co-hosting the workshop, which the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation ([ISSF](http://iss-foundation.org/)) has supported with a US$40 000 grant ([click here](http://iss-foundation.org/2013/11/11/funding-for-workshop-to-protect-threatened-seabirds-in-longline-fisheries/)). “There are well-defined and proven methods to reduce the rate at which longline vessels catch seabirds, and it is vitally important that we help longline fleets understand how best to put these techniques into practice,” ISSF President Susan Jackson said. “This workshop is an example of how public-private partnerships can benefit the greater marine environment without harming the ability of fishers to remain economically viable.” Fishing data show that Taiwanese vessels account for a major proportion of longline vessels in areas overlapping with albatross foraging and breeding grounds.  Most of these vessels are targeting [Albacore](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albacore) *Thunnus alalunga*, with fish typically destined for canneries. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Mitigation/Fact_Sheet_01_Fig1.jpg) Jackson added, “Regional fishery management organizations [RFMOs] have strengthened measures to address seabird bycatch, and as these requirements come into effect over the next year, longline fleets will need support as they take responsibility for improving their practices. Supporting the BirdLife Global Seabird Programme is part of ISSF’s commitment to engaging and working with longline tuna fishing fleets.” “[Tuna management bodies in the Atlantic, Indian and southern Pacific Oceans](http://iss-foundation.org/status-of-the-stocks/management-rfmos/) now require longline vessels south of 25°S (30°S in the Pacific) to use at least two of the following measures: bird-scaring lines, which keep birds away from the hooks; night setting when many birds are less active; or branchline weighting in order to sink hooks more quickly out of the reach of seabirds.” With thanks to Charlie Patterson for information. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 13 November 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/a-workshop-to-protect-threatened-seabirds-in-taiwanese-longline-fisheries-is-underway-this-week.md) ## ACAP Breeding Site No. 49. Grand Jason Island and its Black-browed Albatrosses and Southern Giant Petrels At 1380 ha, Grand Jason is the largest island in the Jason Islands Group, located in the north-west of the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)*.  The topography of the island is varied, and includes steep slopes and tussac-covered west- and south-facing slopes; the main peak rises to an altitude of 361 m above sea level on the southern side of the island.   ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Grand Jason BBA colony to WNW Nov 1997 s.jpg)   Overloking a large Black-browed Albatross colony on Grand Jason, November 1997 The uninhabited island is owned (along with neighbouring [Steeple Jason](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1484-acap-breeding-sites-no-43-steeple-jason-island-a-major-home-of-black-browed-albatrosses-in-the-south-atlantic)) by the Wildlife Conservation Society of New York ([WCS](http://www.wcs.org/)) a US-registered conservation organisation.  Previously, the island was stocked with cattle and sheep.  By 1970, the livestock had been removed, and although erosion is still evident in places, there has been some recovery of the vegetation. Fortunately, Grand Jason has remained free of rodents.  Limited tourism takes place with the prior approval of the WCS.   ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Grand Jason SW Peninsula s.jpg) View over a Black-browed colony on Grand Jason, November 1997 ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Grand Jason SW coast s.jpg)  The south coast above a Black-browed Albatross colony with Mike Morrison and Gavin Harrison, November 2006 ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Grand Jason BBA colony s.jpg) Black-browed Albatross nests at the edge of a colony, with many more below above the cliffs, November 2006 Grand Jason supports the third largest colony of Black-browed Albatrosses *Thalassarche melanophris* ìn the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)*.  An aerial photographic survey in 2010 yielded a total of 89 489 occupied nests.  During the previous aerial photographic survey, in 2006, 55 183 occupied nests were counted, representing a 62% increase over the five-year period. The Black-browed Albatross colonies are located mainly on the lower south-western- and south-facing lower slopes of the island. Approximately 820 pairs of Southern Giant Petrels *Macronectes giganteus*breed on Grand Jason, on eroded ground on the coastal plain at the south-eastern tip of the island. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Grand Jason S erosion s.jpg) Windswept sand and ash from burnt-out Tussac Grass (note orange ash circles, showing original positions of the tussac bogs) at the southern point of Grand Jason; Southern Giant Petrels were breeding in the distance in November 2006 On 22 January 2013, a fire, thought to have been caused by lightning, threatened Black-browed Albatrosses and other wildlife present on the island at the time.  Fortunately, a quick response by local farmers and members of Falklands Conservation ensured that the damage was limited to a handful of Black-browed Albatross nests ([c](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1289-a-lucky-escape-a-lightning-fire-on-the-south-atlantic-island-of-grand-jason-threatened-black-browed-albatrosses-last-month)[lick here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1289-a-lucky-escape-a-lightning-fire-on-the-south-atlantic-island-of-grand-jason-threatened-black-browed-albatrosses-last-month)). Grand Jason is the largest island in the [Jason Islands Group Important Bird Area](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sitefactsheet.php?id=20850).  The other islands in the group supporting Black-browed Albatross breeding populations are [Elephant Jason](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1487-acap-breeding-sites-no-44-elephant-jason-island-in-the-south-atlantic), [South Jason](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1489-acap-breeding-sites-no-45-south-jason-island-at-risk-to-fires) and [Steeple Jason](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1484-acap-breeding-sites-no-43-steeple-jason-island-a-major-home-of-black-browed-albatrosses-in-the-south-atlantic). With gateful thanks to Robin Woods for his photographs and captions. **Selected References:** Anon. 2013.  Quick thinking farmers may have saved albatross colony.  [Penguin News](http://www.penguin-news.com/) 24(34): 13. Catry, P., Forcada, J. & Almeida, A. 2011.  Demographic parameters of Black-browed Albatrosses *Thalassarche melanophris* from the Falkland Islands.  [Polar Biology 34: 1221-1229](http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00300-011-0984-3?LI=true). [Falklands Conservation] 2006.  [Important Bird Areas of the Falkland Islands](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sitefactsheet.php?id=20850).  London: Falklands Conservation.  160 pp. Strange, I.J. 2008.  [Aerial Surveys of Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophris: the Methodology Employed and Comparisons with Surveys Carried out in 1986-2005-2006 and 2007](http://www.falklandswildlife.com/graphics/BBA%20Aerial%20Survey%20Methodology%20Ian%20J%20Strange.pdf).  New Island: Design in Nature & Falkland Islands Wildlife.  59 pp. Strange, I. & Strange, G. 2011.  [Black-browed Albatross](http://www.falklandswildlife.com/pages/albatrosssurveys.htm) [Thalassarche melanophris](http://www.falklandswildlife.com/pages/albatrosssurveys.htm)[. Aerial Photographic Survey Methodology: Advantages over Ground Surveying in the Falkland Islands. Results and Comparisons with Surveys in 2005 and 2010](http://www.falklandswildlife.com/pages/albatrosssurveys.htm).  Stanley: New Island Conservation Trust.  30 pp. Summers, D. 2005.  [A Visitor’s Guide to the Falkland Islands](http://www.falklandsconservation.com/).  Second Edition.  Falklands Conservation: London.  132 pp. Wheeler, T. 2004.  The Falklands & South Georgia Island.  Footscray: [Lonely Planet Publications](http://www.lonelyplanet.com/).  200 pp. Wolfaardt, A.[C.] 2012.  [An Assessment of the Population Trends and Conservation Status of Black-browed Albatrosses in the Falkland Islands](http://www.epd.gov.fk/wp-content/uploads/An%20assessment%20of%20the%20conservation%20status%20of%20BBA%20in%20the%20Falkland%20Islands_July%202012_Final.pdf). 23 pp. Wolfaardt, A.C., Rendell, N. & Brickle, P. 2010.  [Falkland Islands Implementation Plan for the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP): Review of Current Work and a Prioritised Work Programme for the future](http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/pdf/pub10_ACAPPlanFalklandIslands.pdf).  Stanley: Falkland Islands Government.  57 pp. Woods, R.W. & Woods, A. 1997.  *Atlas of Breeding Birds of the Falkland Islands*.  Oswestry: Anthony Nelson.  190 pp. *Anton Wolfaardt, Convenor, ACAP Seabird Bycatch Working Group & John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 16 November 2013* *A dispute exists between the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (Islas Georgias del Sur y Islas Sandwich del Sur) and the surrounding maritime areas. [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/acap-breeding-site-no-49-grand-jason-island-and-its-black-browed-albatrosses-and-southern-giant-petrels.md) ## Mice on Maud: a New Zealand island successfully used for seabird translocations may be in trouble [Maud Island/Te](http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-visit/marlborough/sounds-area/maud-island/)[Hoiere](http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-visit/marlborough/sounds-area/maud-island/) (310 ha) in the Marlborough Sounds of New Zealand’s South Island is a scientific reserve administered by the Department of Conservation ([DOC](http://www.doc.govt.nz)) as a predator-free island sanctuary for native species – since its introduced Stoats *Mustela erminea* were eradicated in the 1990s.  Maud Island is closed to public access without a permit because of its importance as a native wildlife sanctuary. Over the years chicks of three species of burrowing procellariiform seabirds (Fluttering Shearwater *Puffinus gavia*, Common Diving Petrel*Pelecanoides urinatrix* and Fairy Prion *Pachyptila turtur*) have been successfully translocated to the island, hitherto thought to be free of rodents. [News from DOC](http://www.doc.govt.nz/about-doc/news/media-releases/mice-found-on-predator-free-maud-island/) last week is that mice have been found on the island following searches with trained rodent-detection dogs, surviving in the presence of rodent traps and poison bait stations.  It is not known how the mice arrived, given the biosecurity protocols in place, but tightening up of these is now being considered.  “The mouse infestation may have started with just one pregnant female”, perhaps from an illegal landing. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Shearwaters/Shearwaters/fluttering_shearwater-chick-mana_colin_miskelly.jpg) A Fluttering Shearwater chick, photograph courtesy of Colin Miskelly Given that the House Mouse *Mus musculus* is known to attack and kill the chicks of several species of burrowing petrels on Gough Island in the South Atlantic ([click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1348-gough-island-s-killer-mice-have-reduced-the-island-s-burrowing-petrel-population-including-of-acap-listed-grey-petrels)), there must now be concern over the fate of Maud Island’s colonies of burrowing petrels.  However, help is on the way. “We are keen to eradicate the mice and restore Maud Island’s predator-free status as soon as possible” said DOC Sounds Conservation Services Manager Roy Grose. “To be sure of success in eliminating all the mice we need to hold off an eradication operation until next winter when food for mice would be scarce and they would be more likely to eat the poison baits.  We will do all we can in the meantime to limit the impacts of the mice on endangered species”.  Also at risk are native invertebrates, reptiles and amphibians. **Selected References:** Bell, M., Bell, B.D. & Bell, E.A. 2005.  Translocation of Fluttering Shearwater (*Puffinus gavia*) chicks to create a new colony.  [*Notornis* 52: 11-15](http://notornis.osnz.org.nz/system/files/Notornis_52_1_11.pdf). Cuthbert, R.J., Louw, H., Lurling, J., Parker, G., Rexer-Huber, K., Sommer, E., Visser, P. & Ryan, P.G. 2013.  Low burrow occupancy and breeding success of burrowing petrels at Gough Island: a consequence of mouse predation. [*Bird Conservation International*  doi.org/10.1017/S0959270912000494](http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8873838). Gaze, P. & Cash, B. 2008.  [A history of wildlife translocations in the Marlborough Sounds](http://www.doc.govt.nz/Documents/conservation/wildlife-translocations-small.pdf).  *DOC Occasional Publication* No. 72.  Wellington: Department of Conservation.  23 pp. Miskelly, C.M. & Taylor, G.A. 2004.  Establishment of a colony of Common Diving Petrels (*Pelecanoides urinatrix*) by chick transfers and acoustic attraction.  [*Emu* 104: 205-211](http://www.publish.csiro.au/?paper=MU03062). Miskelly, C.M., Taylor, G.A., Gummer, H. & Williams, R. 2009.  Translocations of eight species of burrow-nesting seabirds (genera *Pterodroma*, *Pelecanoides*, *Pachyptila* and *Puffinus*: Family Procellariidae). [*Biological Conservation* 142: 1965-1980](http://www.cabdirect.org/abstracts/20093271896.html). Wanless, R.M., Ratcliffe, N., Angel, A., Bowie, B.C., Cita, K., Hilton, G.M., Kritzinger, P., Ryan, P.G. & Slabber, M.[J.] 2012.  Predation of Atlantic Petrel chicks by house mice on Gough Island.  [*Animal Conservation* 15: 472-479](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2012.00534.x/abstract;jsessionid=A37DF152096362DE4DDCC02B7E57D330.f01t03?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&userIsAuthenticated=false). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 15 November 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/mice-on-maud-a-new-zealand-island-successfully-used-for-seabird-translocations-may-be-in-trouble.md) ## Improving the collection of seabird mortality data in South American Observer Programmes – Phase II A South American Workshop funded by the Albatross and Petrel Agreement as the second phase of Project ACAP 10-11 **Improving Data Collection on Seabird Incidental Mortality Associated with Fisheries** **in South American Observer Programmes** was held in Piriápolis, Uruguay over three days between 05 and 07 November. The meeting took place at the Argentino Hotel and was attended by representatives of five of the South American Parties to ACAP (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Uruguay). ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Meetings/Misc/South American Workshop 1 Jorge Azocar s.jpg) ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Meetings/Misc/South American Workshop 2 Jorge Azocar s.jpg)  Workshop photographs by Jorge Azócar The objective of the workshop was to wrap up the data collection on seabird mortality in fisheries by observer programmes in the South American region. This was the second time heads and key stakeholders of observer programmes in southern South America have come together to discuss strategies in order to harmonize data collection protocols and databases. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Fishing_Gear/patagonian_trawler_ juan_pablo_seco_ pon.jpg) A South American fishing trawler attracts numerous albatrosses Photograph by Juan Pablo Seco Pon [Click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/news-archive/23-2010-news-archive/677-acap-funds-a-south-american-workshop-to-improve-the-collection-of-seabird-mortality-data) to read of the first South American Observer Workshop funded by ACAP. With thanks to Jorge Azócar, Chile for information and photographs. *Juan Pablo Seco Pon, ACAP South American News Correspondent, 27 November 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/improving-the-collection-of-seabird-mortality-data-in-south-american-observer-programmes-phase-ii.md) ## Funding opportunity for threatened species from the USA’s Wildlife Without Borders programme The Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals ([CMS](http://www.cms.int/)) has announced (Notification 2013/027) a funding opportunity within the [Wildlife Without Borders](http://www.fws.gov/international/wildlife-without-borders/index.html) Programme of the United States [Fish & Wildlife Service](http://www.fws.gov/) International Conservation Funds (which includes the [Critically Endangered Animals Conservation Fund](http://www.fws.gov/international/wildlife-without-borders/critically-endangered-animals-conservation-fund.html). The grants promote objectives that are consistent with those of the Convention and its specialized agreements (such as the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels – ACAP) and may thus provide a source of funding to assist CMS with the implementation of conservation activities on the ground.  All but one of the current 13 Parties to ACAP are also Parties to the CMS ([click here](http://www.cms.int/about/partylist_e.pdf)). “The CMS Secretariat encourages its Parties and partners to propose projects that contribute to the implementation of the Convention and its instruments, in line with any plans, actions or initiatives developed under them, and will strive to support these proposals with letters of endorsement.” ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/W/Waved/waved_albatross_adult_john_cooper.jpg)   Waved Albatross, photographed by John Cooper For more information on this funding opportunity, contact Monika Thiele, Programme Officer/Focal Point for North America, UNEP/CMS Secretariat ([monika.thiele@unep.org](mailto:monika.thiele@unep.org)) and Laura Cerasi, Associate Partnerships and Fundraising Officer, UNEP/CMS Secretariat ([lcerasi@cms.int](mailto:lcerasi@cms.int)).  All CMS notifications can be accessed [online](http://www.cms.int/notifications/2013.htm). [Click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1349-the-usa-s-critically-endangered-animals-conservation-fund-calls-for-applications-for-developing-world-threatened-species) to read more details on the US programme and of a previous funding round. The deadline for applications is 1 December *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 09 November 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/funding-opportunity-for-threatened-species-from-the-usa-s-wildlife-without-borders-programme.md) ## Is it me or is it getting warm? Wedge-tailed Shearwaters in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef Scarla Weeks ([Biophysical Oceanography Group](http://www.gpem.uq.edu.au/oceanography-research), School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Management, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia) and colleagues writing in the journal [*Marine Ecology Progress Series*](http://www.int-res.com/journals/meps/meps-home/)have looked at effects of increasing sea-surface temperature on seabirds foraging in the Great Barrier Reef, including the Wedge-tailed Shearwater *Puffinus pacificus*. The paper’s abstract follows: “Previously we have demonstrated that prey availability to seabirds of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) decreases in direct association with within-season increases in sea-surface temperature, independent of prevailing El Niño conditions.  These negative impacts occur throughout the GBR and affect multiple seabird species.  Currently, the oceanic processes driving these impacts or the potential for them to occur in other marine systems are unknown. Here, we use satellite andin situ data obtained during a thermal stress event to identify the within-season links between ocean dynamics and seabird foraging success on the southern GBR.  In February 2006, a major mesoscale eddy formed coastward of the East Australian Current flow, adjacent to our study site.  In mid-February, strengthening of this eddy caused an intrusion of cool, dense waters at depth across the GBR shelf.  This intrusion intensified vertical stratification and caused a pronounced warming of sea-surface layers.  Prey availability to seabirds significantly decreased during this period and remained low until eddy intensity decreased and surface waters cooled.  Prey availability increased following this episode, clearly indicating that loss of prey was associated with a short-term vertical and/or horizontal redistribution of forage-fish, or subsurface predators, rather than an overall decrease in productivity linked to seasonal-scale El Niño processes.” ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Shearwaters/Wedge_tailed/wedge-tailed shearwater_alan_burger.jpg) Wedge-tailed Shearwater, photographed by Alan Burger **Reference:** # Weeks, S.J., Steinberg, C. & Congdon, B.C.  2013.  Oceanography and seabird foraging: within-season impacts of increasing sea-surface temperature on the Great Barrier Reef.  [*Marine Ecology Progress*](http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v490/p247-254/)[*Series *](http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v490/p247-254/)[490:247-254](http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v490/p247-254/). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 12 November 2013* * * [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/is-it-me-or-is-it-getting-warm-wedge-tailed-shearwaters-in-australia-s-great-barrier-reef.md) ## Predator pressure and parasites: how well do Cory’s Shearwaters fare? Sandra Hervías ([Island Ecology and Evolution Research Group](https://www.ipna.csic.es/dept/agro/eei/en) (IPNA-CSIC), Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain) and colleagues write in the journal [*Parasitology Research*](http://link.springer.com/journal/436)on the combined effects of alien predators and ectoparasites on Cory’s Shearwaters *Calonectris borealis*breeding on Corvo Island in the Portuguese Azores Archipelago.  The paper’s abstract follows: “Predator activity around the nests induces stress in breeding birds, which may have weaker immunity and are therefore more susceptible to parasite infections.  The influence of predators on parasites has only been observed in land birds, and most studies are experimental.  As seabird colonies offer excellent conditions for parasites, here we assess the influence of mouse, rat, and cat activity on parasites in Cory's shearwater (*Calonectris diomedea borealis*).  Adults were examined for blood parasites and one adult and the juvenile from 53 nests were inspected for ectoparasites over two consecutive years (2010 and 2011). Nests differed in their physical characteristics and indices of mammal predator activity and were checked weekly to assess breeding success.  Our results showed absence of blood parasites. Among the environmental factors, predator pressure received the most support (89 %) from the data as influencing nest ectoparasite intensity.  Birds most infected had worse body condition, and breeding success was negatively influenced by predator activity and ectoparasite intensity.  To our knowledge, this is the first analysis of the interaction between mammal predators and ectoparasites in seabird species and supports greater protection through eradication efforts.  In addition, we provide the first data on the endoparasite fauna of Cory's shearwater.” ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Shearwaters/Corys/corys_shearwater_paulo_catry.jpg) Cory's Shearwater, photographed by Paulo Catry [Click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/news-archive/57-2012-news-archive/1236-influence-of-mice-rats-and-cats-on-nest-survival-of-corys-shearwaters) for a related paper by Sandra Hervías. **Reference:** Hervías, S., Ramos, J.A., Nogales, M. &  Ruiz de Ybáñ[http://link.springer.com/search?facet-author=%22Roc%C3%ADo+Ruiz+de+Yb%C3%A1%C3%B1ez%22](http://link.springer.com/search?facet-author=%22Roc%C3%ADo+Ruiz+de+Yb%C3%A1%C3%B1ez%22)ez, R. 2013.  Effect of exotic mammalian predators on parasites of Cory's shearwater: ecological effect on population health and breeding success.  [*Parasitology Research* 112: 2721-2730](http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00436-013-3443-y). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 14 November 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/predator-pressure-and-parasites-how-well-do-cory-s-shearwaters-fare.md) ## Young Wandering Albatrosses need to learn how to forage efficiently before breeding Louise Riotte-Lambert and Henri Weimerskirch ([Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé](http://www.cebc.cnrs.fr/), Villiers en Bois, France) have used satellite telemetry to compare the foraging movements of juvenile, immature and breeding adult Wandering Albatrosses *Diomedea exulan*s, publishing their findings in the *[Proceedings of the Royal Society Biological Sciences](http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/).* The paper’s abstract follows”: “Foraging skills of young individuals are assumed to be inferior to those of adults.  The reduced efficiency of naive individuals may be the primary cause of the high juvenile mortality and explain the deferment of maturity in long-lived species.  However, the study of juvenile and immature foraging behaviour has been limited so far.  We used satellite telemetry to compare the foraging movements of juveniles, immature and breeding adult wandering albatrosses *Diomedea exulans*, a species where foraging success is positively influenced by the distance covered daily.  We showed that juveniles are able to use favourable winds as soon as the first month of independence, but cover shorter distances daily and spend more time sitting on water than adults during the first two months after fledging.  These reduced movement capacities do not seem to be the cause of higher juvenile mortality.  Moreover, juveniles almost never restrict their movement to specific areas, as adults and immatures frequently do over shelf edges or oceanic zones, which suggest that the location of appropriate areas is learned through experience.  Immatures and adults have equivalent movement capacities, but when they are central place foragers, i.e. when adults breed or immatures come to the colony to display and pair, immatures make shorter trips than adults.  The long duration of immaturity in this species seems to be related to a long period of learning to integrate the foraging constraints associated with reproduction and central place foraging.  Our results indicate that foraging behaviour of young albatrosses is partly innate and partly learned progressively over immaturity.  The first months of learning appear critical in terms of survival, whereas the long period of immaturity is necessary for young birds to attain the skills necessary for efficient breeding without fitness costs.” ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/W/Wandering/Wandering_Albatross_Rehab1.jpg) A juvenile Wandering Albatross **Reference:** Riotte-Lambert L. & Weimerskirch, H. 2013.  Do naive juvenile seabirds forage differently from adults?  [*Proceedings of the Royal Society Biological Sciences* 280: 20131434.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.1434.](http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/280/1768/20131434.full.pdf+html) *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 10 November 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/young-wandering-albatrosses-need-to-learn-how-to-forage-efficiently-before-breeding.md) ## Bye-bye bunny? Success appears in sight for the Macquarie Island Pest Eradication Project Guillaume Lapin or just plan Billy Bunny, in any language the Macquarie Island Pest Eradication Project ([MIPEP](http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/?base=13013)) seems set to succeed.  This ambitious multi-year project aims to eradicate three species of introduced mammals from [Australia’s sub-Antarctic Macquarie island](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1347-breeding-sites-no-19-macquarie-island-a-recovering-sub-antarctic-world-heritage-site) with its important populations of ACAP-listed seabirds: European Rabbit *Oryctolagus cuniculus*, Black Rat *Rattus rattus* and House Mouse *Mus musculus*. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Macquarie Island Aleks Terauds.jpg) A view of Macquarie Island, photographed by Aleks Terauds Poison bait was dropped over the island by helicopter in the austral winter of 2011.  Since then field teams with especially trained rabbit- and rodent-detecting dogs have been scouring the island for any signs of alien life.  No live rodents have ever been found since shortly after the poison bait drop but in the first few months following baiting the hunting teams and their dogs removed a total of 13 rabbits.  However, it now it seems the rabbits are no more. MIPEP’s Manager, Keith Springer, soon to head back to Macquarie,  reports to *ACAP Latest News*: "It is now two years later this month since the last rabbit was killed, although there was a bit of sign into early December 2011, where we never accounted for the rabbit that left it.  We will continue the search over the summer with a beefed-up team and that will probably end the field work if nothing is found by March when we come home on the resupply voyage.  The dogs would then also return in March." However, Keith adds: "we are prepared for the possibility of sending a team to the island in 2015 if necessary." If MIPEP is announced to be a success come March 2013 then Macca at 12 780 ha will the World’s largest island from which House Mice have been eradicated by a factor of over three: up from 3800 ha when New Zealand announced success two years ago in ridding the joined islands of [Rangito and Motutapo](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/news-archive/24-2011-news-archive/914-support-for-the-eradication-of-the-alien-house-mouse-on-gough-island-largest-island-for-a-successful-eradication-of-mice-increases-to-3800-hectares) of their mice (and other alien mammals, including European Rabbits). This will be good news for the planned attempts to eradicate mice on New Zealand’s [Antipodes Island](http://www.ourfarsouth.org/milliondollarmouse/) (2000 ha) and the United Kingdom’s [Gough Island](http://www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/projects/details/227979-tristan-da-cunha-programme)(6800 ha): both substantially smaller than Macquarie. [Click here](http://www.antarctica.gov.au/living-and-working/stations/macquarie-island/this-week-at-macquarie-island) to read illustrated weekly updates on MIPEP from the field team of hunters and dog handlers on Macca.  Occasional [blogs](http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/index.aspx?base=15267) from the field give added details. *ACAP Latest News* has carried regular reports on MIPEP since 2010 ([click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/component/search/?searchword=MIPEP&searchphrase=all&Itemid=101) for a listing). With thanks to Keith Springer for information. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 11 November 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/bye-bye-bunny-success-appears-in-sight-for-the-macquarie-island-pest-eradication-project.md) ## Not this year. CCAMLR does not reach consensus for the third time on proclaiming two large Marine Protected Areas in Antarctic waters Efforts by the Commission for the Conservation of Marine Living Resources ([CCAMLR](http://www.ccamlr.org/)) to declare two large Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Southern Ocean have failed once more with no consensus being reached at the recent meeting of the Commission in Hobart, Australia.  This follows on from last year’s [meetings](http://www.ccamlr.org/en/meetings/26) and a [special intersessional meeting](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1444-conserving-the-southern-ocean-ccamlr-to-hold-marine-protected-area-meetings-in-germany-this-month) in Germany in July this year when agreement was not reached on proclaiming MPAs in the Ross Sea and East Antarctica regions ([click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1527-another-chance-to-establish-marine-protected-areas-in-the-southern-ocean)). Go to the links below to read opinion pieces from both governmental and NGO sources on CCAMLR’s decision not to declare new MPAs this year. [http://www.antarctica.gov.au/media/news/2013/east-antarctic-marine-protected-areas-a-step-closer](http://www.antarctica.gov.au/media/news/2013/east-antarctic-marine-protected-areas-a-step-closer) [http://antarcticocean.org/2013/11/russia-and-ukraine-block-again-now-what/](http://antarcticocean.org/2013/11/russia-and-ukraine-block-again-now-what/) [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11150159](http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11150159)[http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11150159](http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11150159) [http://antarcticocean.org/2013/11/russia-ukraine-again-block-global-efforts-for-southern-ocean-marine-protection/](http://antarcticocean.org/2013/11/russia-ukraine-again-block-global-efforts-for-southern-ocean-marine-protection/) [![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/S/Southern_Giant/Signy 3 Michael Dunn s.jpg)](http://antarcticocean.org/2013/11/russia-ukraine-again-block-global-efforts-for-southern-ocean-marine-protection/) A white-phase Southern Giant Petrel in Antarctica Photograph by Michael Dunn Creation of new MPAs in the Southern Ocean will help protect those species of seabirds that occur in the region, including ACAP-listed albatrosses and petrels.  Although only two ACAP-listed species (Light-mantled Sooty Albatross *Phoebetria palpebrata* and Southern Giant Petrel*Macronectes giganteus*) breed within the Antarctic Treaty area, the waters of the Southern Ocean are important foraging grounds for the many ACAP-listed species that breed on sub-Antarctic islands. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 03 November 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/not-this-year-ccamlr-fails-to-reach-consensus-for-the-third-time-on-proclaiming-two-large-marine-protected-areas-in-antarctic-waters.md) ## Short-tailed Albatrosses return once more to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and to Kure Atoll  Two Short-tailed Albatrosses *Phoebastria albatrus* have returned to the USA’s [Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge](http://www.fws.gov/midway/) in the North Pacific.  On 27 October 2013 on Eastern Island an adult male was found resting close to the site where he and his mate have previously successfully reared two chicks to fledging in 2010 and 2011 ([click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/news-archive/57-2012-news-archive/58-midway-atolls-second-short-tailed-albatross-chick-fledges)).  The bird was banded as a fledgling on Japan’s Torishima Island in 1987 and has been returning to the same spot in the refuge since 1999. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/Short-tailed Albatross Eastern Island 2013 Dale ChormanSeeMore Wildlife Systems s1.jpg) The Eastern Island male Short-tailed Albatross awaits its partner Photograph by Dale Chorman/SeeMore Wildlife Systems “With luck, his female partner has survived a year foraging at sea to once again return to her mate on Midway Atoll,” said biologist Pete Leary. “We have tried for years to attract a nesting pair using decoys and restoring nesting habitat, so the potential for Midway to play a small role in helping sustain an amazing endangered species is rewarding and encouraging.”  In late 2012 the two birds reunited again but did not breed and produce a fledgling this year.  However, the female had not showed up by 3 November. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/STAL Camera Pete Leary s.jpg) A remote camera monitors the Eastern Island Short-tailed Albatross pair Photograph by Pete Leary "Once one of the most abundant albatross species in the North Pacific with a population of more than 5 million adults, short-tailed albatross were hunted primarily for feathers and by 1949 the species was thought to be extinct. However, mostly through the efforts of Japanese researchers and international treaties, the short-tailed albatross population is beginning to recover. In 2007, the world population was estimated at 2,350 birds” ([click here](http://usfwspacific.tumblr.com/post/65641822660/return-to-midway-a-short-tailed-albatross-love-story)). A second, sub-adult Short-tailed Albatross has also returned to Midway’s Sand Island – on 26 October, landing “in its usual place near the makai (South) side of the taxiway…”.  ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/Short-tailed Albatross Sand Island 2013 Nicole Cody_USFWS s1.jpg) The Sand Island Short-tailed Albatross with a Black-footed Albatross Photograph by Nicole Cody/USFWS The female-female pair of Short-tails seen every year since 2010 ([click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/news-archive/57-2012-news-archive/1130-now-we-just-need-a-male-two-female-short-tailed-albatrosses-lay-eggs-in-the-same-nest-on-kure-atoll-for-the-third-year-in-a-row)) returned to [Kure Atoll](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kure_Atoll) for the fourth time last month. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/S/Short_tailed/Short-tailed Kure 2013 s.jpg) The Kure Short-tailed Albatross pair on 31 October 2013 Photograph courtesy of the [Kure Atoll Conservancy](http://kureatollconservancy.org/) Midway and Kure Atolls forms part of the [Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument](http://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/), which has been a [World Heritage Site](http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1326) since July 2010. For more news from Midway [click here](http://peteatmidway.blogspot.com/). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 07 November 2013*  [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/short-tailed-albatrosses-return-once-more-to-midway-atoll-national-wildlife-refuge.md) ## Indian Ocean Tuna Commission to hold a second technical workshop for the implementation of measures to reduce seabird bycatch in longline fisheries this month in Korea The Indian Ocean Tuna Commission ([IOTC](http://www.iotc.org/)) will hold a **Second T****echnical Workshop for the Implementation of Measures to Reduce Seabird Bycatch in IOTC Longline Fisheries** in Busan, Republic of Korea over 29-30 November this year.  The workshop will be supported by the Republic of Korea, Japan and [BirdLife Internationa](http://www.birdlife.org/)l. According to information received by the ACAP Secretariat the workshop will have three primary objectives “1) To provide training and demonstrations of practical options for longline fishing vessels to become compliant with [IOTC Resolution 12/06 On Reducing the Incidental Bycatch of Seabirds in Longline Fisheries](http://www.iotc.org/files/CMM/IOTC%20-%20Collection%20of%20ACTIVE%20CMMs%2020%20June%202012.pdf), which will come into force on 1 July 2014.  Specifically the workshop will present the three seabird bycatch mitigation measures (bird scaring lines, line weighting options and night setting) to fishery managers and key personnel from IOTC CPCs [Cooperating non-Contracting Parties].  The intention is that the participants will be provided with the necessary tools (including Fact Sheets, technical specifications, etc.) to assist national fleets to implement the two-out-of-three mitigation measures appropriately. 2) To discuss safety and other practical concerns that may be raised in relation to implementation of the seabird bycatch mitigation measure requirements. 3) The workshop will also highlight the data collection and reporting obligations relevant to longline fishing in the Southern Ocean, to improve the IOTC’s capacity to understand and manage fishing impacts on seabirds.” "The target audience/participants for the two-day workshop include officials involved in technical aspects of longline fisheries management - such as those responsible for issuing national fishing permits (and writing the conditions of the permits); inspection/compliance/observer agencies (who would need to know what to look for in logbooks, during onboard inspections or as observers); and Industry representatives – influential fishing captains/masters and industry representatives who could translate the outcomes of the workshop through leading by example." According to the workshop’s agenda received by ACAP the following presentations will be included among those to be given: IOTC Resolution 12/06 and role of tuna longliners in seabird conservation (David Wilson, IOTC Secretariat and Cleo Small, BirdLife International); Options for seabird bycatch mitigation: night setting, tori line and line weights (Ross Wanless, BirdLife International); and Theory and practice for Tori/Bird Scaring Streamer Lines (Ed Melvin, University of Washington). ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Mitigation/Fact_Sheet_01_Fig1.jpg) In addition, practical demonstrations will be given on the Yamazaki Double Weight System by Ed Melvin and on Safe Leads and Lumo Leads by Ross Wanless.  The workshop is planned to end with a visit aboard a longline vessel for a practical demonstration of bird-scaring (Tori) lines. The Albatross and Petrel Agreement will be represented at the workshop by the Convenor of its Seabird Bycatch Working Group, Dr Anton Wolfaardt.  Following the workshop Anton will attend the [16th Session](http://www.iotc.org/English/meetings/sc/sccurrent.php) of the IOTC’s Scientific Committee. [Click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1338-indian-ocean-tuna-commission-to-hold-a-technical-workshop-for-the-implementation-of-measures-to-reduce-seabird-bycatch-in-iotc-longline-fisheries) to read of plans for the first IOTC technical workshop on seabird bycatch mitigation measures, that was to be held in Mauritius in May this year, but did not take place. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 06 November 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/indian-ocean-tuna-commission-to-hold-a-second-technical-workshop-for-the-implementation-of-measures-to-reduce-seabird-bycatch-in-longline-fisheries-this-month-in-korea.md) ## The Albatross and Petrel Agreement reports on progress with pelagic longline mitigation to the 2013 meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources ACAP’s Executive Secretary, Warren Papworth and Science Officer, Wiesława Misiak attended the [Thirty-second Meetings](http://www.ccamlr.org/en/ccamlr-xxxii) of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources ([CCAMLR](http://www.ccamlr.org)) and its Scientific Committee held in Hobart, Tasmania last month. In its interventions to the meetings ACAP noted that the incidental bycatch of albatrosses and petrels in adjacent fisheries north of the CCAMLR region has been an item of concern to the CCAMLR Commission for some years. ACAP’s Executive Secretary advised that substantial progress has been made by the tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (tRFMOs) managing fisheries adjacent to the CCAMLR Convention area, with these Commissions having adopted seabird conservation measures requiring use of two of the three mitigation measures recommended by ACAP for pelagic longline fisheries. In three tRFMOs ([ICCAT](http://www.iccat.int/en/), [IOTC](http://www.iotc.org/English/index.php) and [WCPFC](http://www.wcpfc.int/)), mandatory seabird conservation measures have been adopted requiring use of two of the three mitigation measures (line weighting, use of bird-scaring lines and night setting) recommended by ACAP for pelagic longline fisheries.  The [CCSBT](http://www.ccsbt.org/site/) requires its fishers to comply with the seabird conservation measures of ICCAT, IOTC and WCPFC, although currently this is a recommendation only and is not binding on them. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Mitigation/Fact_Sheet_05_Fig1.jpg) The support of ACAP Parties as well as CCAMLR Members was essential in achieving this success.  The Executive Secretary noted also that ACAP’s work in the tRFMOs has been supported for a number of years now by voluntary contributions from the Government of France, which has enabled this work to proceed. The adoption of these conservation measures provides an effective framework with which to prevent the incidental mortality of CCAMLR seabirds in adjacent fisheries.  This is a significant step towards ensuring the long-term survival of many populations of albatrosses and petrels.  The challenge now is to achieve the implementation of the conservation measures and this will be the focus of ACAP’s work in coming years. The use of electronic monitoring is regarded by ACAP as an effective means for facilitating compliance with these conservation measures and the support of CCAMLR Members in ensuring the adoption of this technology in the relevant tRFMOs was sought. *Warren Papworth, Executive Secretary & Wiesława Misiak, Science Officer, ACAP Secretariat, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, 05 November 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/the-albatross-and-petrel-agreement-reports-on-progress-with-pelagic-longline-mitigation-to-the-2013-meeting-of-the-commission-for-the-conservation-of-antarctic-marine-living-resources.md) ## Reducing longline mortality of albatrosses in the USA’s West Coast waters with streamer lines [Ed Melvin](http://wsg.washington.edu/bios/melvin.html) ([Washington Sea Gran](http://wsg.washington.edu/index.html)t & School of Aquatic & Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, USA) writes on-line this month in the magazine [*Fishermen’s News*](http://www.fishermensnews.com/) of progress with adopting bird-scaring (streamer) lines to reduce seabird mortality, especially of albatrosses, in the USA’s west coast waters. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Mitigation/Streamer line Ed Melvin s.jpg) A deployed streamer line, photographed by Ed Melvin His article outlines existing regulations and makes a call for the industry to help “test various streamer-line designs and other mitigation options on boats catching West Coast [sablefish](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sablefish) [*Anoplopoma fimbria*], the fishery most prone to seabird bycatch”. Ed writes: “…next year … regulations under a year-old US Fish and Wildlife Service [biological opinion](https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/protectedresources/seabirds/esa/pcgf_biop1112.pdf) kick in.  The opinion states that bycatch should not exceed two short-tailed albatrosses [*Phoebastria albatrus*] every two years in the entire Washington, Oregon, and California groundfish fisheries (longline, pots and trawl) – starting now, in the 2013 season.  It also requires that every longliner 55 feet or longer deploy two streamer lines starting in 2014.  These new regulations are scheduled for final action at the November 2013 Council meeting and are expected to take effect with the 2014 season.” ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/S/Short_tailed/short-tailed_albatrosses_aleutians_rob_suryan.jpg) Short-tailed Albatrosses: at risk to longliners, photographed at sea by Rob Suryan “This action was catalyzed by the 2011 hooking of an endangered short-tailed albatross by a boat catching sablefish off the Oregon coast and the ongoing takes of black-footed albatross [*P. nigripes*] (more than 40 per year on average) by West Coast longliners.” **References:** Melvin, E.F. 2002.  *[Streamer lines to reduce seabird bycatch in longline fisheries](http://wsg.washington.edu/communications/online/streamers.pdf).*  Seattle: Washington Sea Grant Program.  2 pp. Melvin, E.[F.] 2013.  West Coast longliners must learn to stream.  [*Fishermen’s News*69(11)](http://www.fishermensnews.com/story/2013/11/01/features/west-coast-longliners-must-learn-to-stream/222.html). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 04 November 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/reducing-longline-mortality-of-albatrosses-in-the-usa-s-west-coast-waters-with-streamer-lines.md) ## An overlooked biosecurity concern: moving rodents between seabird islands by back-loading John Cooper ([Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology](http://academic.sun.ac.za/cib/), Stellenbosch University) and colleagues write in *[Aliens the Invasive Species Bulletin](http://www.issg.org/) *(Newsletter of the [IUCN/SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group](http://www.issg.org/)) on the risks of inadvertently moving rodents between seabird islands, including those with breeding populations of ACAP-listed albatrosses and petrels such as within the Prince Edward and Tristan da Cunha Island Groups. The paper’s abstract follows “Introduced House Mice *Mus musculus* were inadvertently back-loaded to a supply ship from mouse-infested Gough Island in the South Atlantic Ocean before the ship proceeded to place a party ashore on mouse-free Inaccessible Island.  It is recommended that cargo from rodent-infested islands, especially that containing waste materials, be routinely inspected and treated on shore with rodenticides before back-loading commences.  This is essential to reduce the risk of introducing rodents to departing vessels and then to rat- and mouse-free islands visited subsequently on the same voyages.” ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/People/ChStwd with caught mouse s.jpg)  Chief Steward Neville Genisson with the House Mouse caught aboard the *S.A. Agulhas* Photograph: *S.A. Agulhas* **Reference:** Cooper, J., Cuthbert. R.J. & Ryan, P.G. 2013.  An overlooked biosecurity concern?  Back-loading at islands supporting introduced rodents.  [*Aliens* 33: 28-31](http://www.issg.org/pdf/aliens_newsletters/A33.pdf). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 09 November 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/an-overlooked-biosecurity-concern-moving-rodents-between-seabird-islands-by-back-loading.md) ## UPDATED Marine commercial fisheries in Canada may kill 4% of visiting Black-footed Albatrosses each year A [special issue](http://www.ace-eco.org/issues/view.php?sf=4)of the open-access electronic journal [*Avian Conservation and Ecology*](http://www.ace-eco.org/)entitled **Quantifying Human-related Mortality of Birds in Canada** contains two papers of interest for the conservation of ACAP-listed albatrosses and petrels Joanne Ellis and colleagues examine two marine-based industries that incidentally take migratory birds in Canada: commercial fisheries through bycatch, and offshore oil and gas exploration, development and production.  They conclude that “[f]isheries bycatch was responsible for the highest levels of incidental take of migratory bird species; estimated combined take in the longline, gillnet, and bottom otter trawl fisheries within the Atlantic, including the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and Pacific regions was 2679 to 45,586 birds per year.” Anna Calvert and colleagues in the special issue’s synthesis paper state that Canadian marine commercial fisheries may kill annually relatively large proportions of Canadian populations of several seabird species, notably 4% of Black-footed Albatrosses *Phoebastria nigripes*.  However, this should be placed in context as they state that "[c]ombined, cat predation and collisions with windows, vehicles, and transmission lines caused >95% of all mortality; the highest industrial causes of mortality were the electrical power and agriculture sectors.  Other mortality sources such as fisheries bycatch can have important local or species-specific impacts, but are relatively small at a national scale." Overall "marine fisheries bycatch had one of the lowest total mortality estimates nation-wide, ...".  ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/B/Black_footed/Black_footed_Albatross2_by_Aleks_Terauds_small.jpg.jpg) Black-footed Albatross at sea, photographed by Aleks Terauds With thanks to Ken Morgan for information. **References:** Calvert, A,M., Bishop, C.A., Elliot, R.D., Krebs, E.A., Kydd, T.M., Machtans, C.S. &. Robertson, G.J. 2013. A synthesis of human-related avian mortality in Canada.  [*Avian Conservation and Ecology* 8(2): 11](http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ACE-00581-080211). Ellis, J.I., Wilhelm, S.I., Hedd, A., Fraser, G.S., Robertson, G.J., Rail, J.-F., Fowler, M. & Morgan, K.H. 2013.  Mortality of migratory birds from marine commercial fisheries and offshore oil and gas production in Canada.  [*Avian Conservation and Ecology* 8(2): 4](http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ACE-00589-080204).  *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 2 November 2013, updated 04 November 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/marine-commercial-fisheries-in-canada-may-kill-4-of-visiting-black-footed-albatrosses-each-year.md) ## International Conference on Island Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation, Hawaii, July 2014 calls for abstracts An International Conference on Island Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation will be held over 7-11 July 2014 at the [University of Hawaii at Manoa](http://www.uhm.hawaii.edu/) in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA over 7-11 July 2014 ([click here](https://sites.google.com/a/hawaii.edu/islandbiology2014/home)). “Islands are renowned for their extraordinary biota - inspiring biologists and providing key insights into evolution, biogeography, and ecology. As a result of the devastating effects of human colonization, island ecosystems face severe threats, and island conservation has become a vital international concern. An international conference consisting of plenary lectures, symposia, contributed talks, and posters will examine a broad range of taxa, regions, and biological disciplines. This will be the first of a regular series of meetings that will be held every four years, on islands around the world, at which island biologists can come together, share insights, and develop collaborations that will accelerate the pace and effectiveness of island research and conservation. “We invite abstracts for any topic related to the focal themes of the conference, including ecology, evolution, biogeography, and conservation on islands, as well as emerging topics such as paleoecology, climate change, ecosystem services, and novel ecosystems on islands. We welcome contributions related to a broad range of topics, organisms, and regions, especially those that have so far attracted little attention. Contributions that aim at advancing data synthesis across different island archipelagos and/or taxa are particularly welcomed.” The deadline abstract submission is 31 January 2014; the deadline for notification of acceptance is 28 February 2014; final acceptance requires that the author register for the conference by 15 April 2014 ([click here](https://sites.google.com/a/hawaii.edu/islandbiology2014/home/abstract-submission)). ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/McNishBayPE Peter Ryan s.jpg)  McNish Bay, Prince Edward Island, Southern Ocean, photographed by Peter Ryan At the Island Biology 2014 conference, organizational meetings will be held to establish the International Society for Island Biology (ISIB) and its scientific journal, *Island Biology* ([click here](https://sites.google.com/a/hawaii.edu/islandbiology2014/home/scientific-society-and-journal)). See an [earlier announcement](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1419-an-international-conference-on-island-evolution-ecology-and-conservation-to-be-held-in-hawaii-next-year) on the Conference. [http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1419-an-international-conference-on-island-evolution-ecology-and-conservation-to-be-held-in-hawaii-next-year](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1419-an-international-conference-on-island-evolution-ecology-and-conservation-to-be-held-in-hawaii-next-year) *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 1 November 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/international-conference-on-island-evolution-ecology-and-conservation-hawaii-july-2014-calls-for-abstracts.md) ## Not a Scilly idea: getting rid of rats to help English Manx Shearwaters The efforts to remove Brown Rats *Rattus norvegicus*from the inhabited islands of [St. Agnes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Agnes,_Isles_of_Scilly) and [Gugh](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gugh) (connected by a [tombolo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tombolo)) in the United Kingdom’s [Isles of Scilly](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isles_of_Scilly) have commenced.  Rat removal in the Scilly Isles will help protect small populations of Manx Shearwaters *Puffinus puffinus* and of European Storm Petrels *Hydrobates pelagicus*that have been reported breeding on both islands ([click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1213-de-ratting-manx-shearwater-colonies-not-a-scilly-idea)). ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Shearwaters/Shearwaters/Manx shearwater Nathan Fletcher s.jpg) Manx Shearwater, photographed by Nathan Fletcher The rat-removal phase of the [Isles of Scilly Seabird Recovery Project](http://www.ios-seabirds.org.uk) is being undertaken by Elizabeth (Biz) Bell and colleagues of New Zealand’s Wildlife Management International Ltd ([WMIL](http://www.wmil.co.nz)), which previously undertook  the feasibility study into rat removal from the Isles of Scilly. *ACAP Latest News* has been kindly supplied with the eradication’s first two progress report by Project Manager Jaclyn Pearson of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds ([RSPB](http://www.rspb.org.uk)) and Biz Bell. The eradication team arrived on the island this month and has commenced laying out the grid for ground baiting utilizing both commercial lockable and tube bait stations, the latter previously manufactured out of 70-cm lengths of plastic drainage tubing by the RSPB. “The completed bait stations will then be fixed in place across the island, marked by a bamboo cane and flag, with the location recorded by GPS to enable follow-up checks.” Nearly 650 canes with attendent bait stations have been placed out so far according to the progress reports. Currently all stations (excluding in the houses and gardens on St. Agnes) have been established. Baiting is expected to commence on 6 November. "Rat trapping has continued at three sites; seven rats have been caught to date. Samples for resistance and DNA testing are being collected from all rats (when suitably fresh)."  ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/WMIL s.jpg) Biz Bell searchs for rat sign ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Islands/Bait station Scilly Isles s.jpg) A flagged bait station awaits its bait Photographs by Wildlife Management International Ltd You can learn more about the project by following its newsletter *The Shearwater*, of which the first two numbers have been produced this year ([click here](http://ios-seabirds.org.uk/index.php?cID=172)). The Isles of Scilly consist of five inhabited islands and numerous other small rocky islets off Cornwall in the south of England.  The project is being run by a partnership of organisations: RSPB, [Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust](http://ios-seabirds.org.uk/partnership/isles-scilly-wildlife-trust/), [Natural England](http://ios-seabirds.org.uk/partnership/natural-england/), [Duchy of Cornwall](http://ios-seabirds.org.uk/partnership/duchy-cornwall/) and the [Isles of Scilly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty](http://ios-seabirds.org.uk/partnership/isles-scilly-aonb/). For the European Storm Petrel, the Isles of Scilly represent the sole breeding site in England, with 1398 pairs.  The islands are also one of only two breeding sites for the Manx Shearwater in Englandwith 171 pairs; the other being the island of Lundy in the Bristol Channel. With thanks to Biz Bell, Nathan Fletcher, Jaclyn Pearson and Rebecca Steggles for information and photographs. **Selected References:** Bell, E. 2011.  *Isles of Scilly Seabird Recovery Project: Summary Report: Improving rodent control on uninhabited islands, assessment of the feasibility of rat removal across the Isles of Scilly Archipelago and feasibility of rat removal from St Agnes and Gugh.*  Blenheim: Wildlife Management International Ltd.  40 pp. Brooke, M. de L. 1990.  *The Manx Shearwater*.  London: T & AD Poyser.  246 pp. Lock, L., Brown, A., Webber, J., Mawer, D. & St. Pierre, P. 2009.  *Isles of Scilly Seabird Conservation Strategy 2009-2013*. Mitchell, P.I., Newton, S.F., Ratcliffe, N. & Dunn, T.E. 2004.  *Seabird Populations of Britain and Ireland.  Results of the Seabird 2000 Census (1998-2002)*.  London: Christopher Helm.  511 pp. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 31 October 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/not-a-scilly-idea-getting-rid-of-rats-to-help-english-manx-shearwaters.md) ## A cliff-hanger of a story: a Northern Giant Petrel kills a Sooty Albatross chick on Marion Island Ben Dilley ([FitzPatrick Institute](http://www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za/), University of Cape Town) describes in the on-line/open access journal [*Ornithological Observations*](http://oo.adu.org.za/content.php?id=99) how a Northern Giant Petrel *Macronectes halli* managed to land on a cliff ledge and kill a Sooty Albatross *Phoebetria fusca* chick on sub-Antarctic Marion Island. Great pictures! ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/N/Northern_Giant/Northern_Giant_Petrel_by_Marienne_de_Villiers.jpg) A Northern Giant Petrel on Marion Island, photographed by Marienne de Villiers **Reference:** Dilley, B.J. 2013.  Living on the edge: Sooty Albatross chick killed by a Northern Giant Petrel.  [*Ornithological Observations* 4: 138-142](http://oo.adu.org.za/pdf/OO_2013_04_138-142.pdf). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 30 October 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/a-cliff-hanger-of-a-story-a-northern-giant-petrel-kills-a-sooty-albatross-chick.md) ## A Hawaiian ceremony releases downed Newell’s Shearwaters to sea School children from Wilcox Elementary School on the Hawaiian Island of Kaua’i released five fledgling Newell’s Shearwaters or ‘A‘o *Puffinus newelli* out to sea this month as part of the annual *E Ho‘opomaika‘**i ‘ia na Manu ‘A‘o* (Cultural Release of the Native Newell’s Shearwater) event.  The birds, which had been rehabilitated by the Save Our Shearwaters programme ([SOS](http://kauaihumane.org/services/saveourshearwaters)), were offered a pule (prayer) by Kupuna (Elder) Leilani Kaleiohi prior to their release. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Shearwaters/Shearwaters/newells_shearwater_sep_2011_eric_vanderwerf.jpg) Newell's Shearwater, photographed by Eric Vanderwerf ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Shearwaters/Shearwaters/Newells-Shearwater-release-Elizabeth-Ames-s.jpg) A Newell's Shearwater fledgling gets released, photographed by Elizabeth Ames  The event is held every year by the Kaua‘i Endangered Seabird Recovery Project ([KESRP](http://kauaiseabirdproject.org/)) and Save Our Shearwaters to increase awareness about Kaua‘i’s shearwaters.  The [Endangered](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3939) ‘A‘o is endemic to the Hawaiian islands; Kaua‘i is the last main refuge of the species with an estimated 90% of the World population. The birds face threats in their breeding grounds from introduced predators such as feral cats and pigs and rats, invasive plants and power line collisions.  Fledglings leaving their nest are particularly vulnerable to light attraction as they make their way towards the sea. “As they near the coast after leaving their burrows in the interior of Kaua’i many are attracted to bright lights which they then circle until they become exhausted and eventually crash to the ground (a phenomena [sic] termed “fall-out”).  Once on the ground they are extremely unlikely to survive - they get run over by cars or eaten by dogs and cats - unless they are rescued and handed over to the Save Our Shearwaters program.” A second release event is planned for today. The Kaua’i Endangered Seabird Recovery Project is a State of Hawaii Department of Forestry and Wildlife project, administered by the Pacific Co-operative Studies Unit of the University of Hawaii.  The Save Our Shearwaters Program is housed at the [Kaua’i Humane Society](http://kauaihumane.org/) and supported by the Kaua’i Island Utility Cooperative. [Click here](http://kauaiseabirdproject.org/index.php/media/kesrp-press-releases/october-24th-2013-kaua-i-school-children-celebrate-as-young-a-o-fly-safely-out-to-sea/) and [here](http://thegardenisland.com/news/local/education/human-aided-shearwaters-awe-fourth-graders/article_18817a04-3dfc-11e3-99ec-001a4bcf887a.html) to read more on this year's release ceremony. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 29 October 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/a-hawaiian-ceremony-releases-downed-newell-s-shearwaters-to-sea.md) ## Atlantic albatrosses pleased? An Argentine longline and trawl fishery for toothfish aims for Marine Stewardship Council certification The Argentine fishery for Patagonian Toothfish *Dissostichus eleginoides* under the management authority of [Consejo Federal Pesquero](http://www.cfp.gob.ar/index.php?sec=home&lang=en)(Federal Fishery Council of Argentina) has now entered the information-gathering phase of certification assessment on behalf of the Marine Stewardship Council ([MSC](http://www.msc.org)) ([click here](http://www.msc.org/newsroom/news/argentine-patagonian-toothfish-fishery-enters-msc-full-assessment)).  Certification considers sustainability of the fishery and effects on non-target species, such as bycatch of ACAP-listed albatrosses and petrels.  The Argentine longline fishery for toothfish is known to result in the deaths of seabirds ([click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/news-archive/24-2011-news-archive/745-saving-money-saving-birds-in-a-win-win-situation-not-using-seabird-bycatch-deterrents-costs-argentinian-longline-fisheries)). The demersal (bottom) fishery under certification is by longline, trawl and traps and takes place on the Argentine Continental Shelf inside the Argentine Economic Exclusive Zone, within FAO Statistical Area 41.  The Total Allowable Catch (TAC) in 2102 was 3500 tonnes.  The Organización Internacional Agropecuaria ([OIA](http://www.oia.com.ar/en)) is carrying out the assessment ([click here](http://www.msc.org/track-a-fishery/fisheries-in-the-program/in-assessment/south-atlantic/argentine_patagonian_toothfish)).  “The primary objective of this stage [of the assessment] is to collect information on the fishery and in particular to speak to representatives of the fishery, fishery management bodies and other stakeholders of the fishery.” ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/B/Black_browed/Black-browed Albatross following boat by Graham Robertson.jpg) Black-browed Albatrosses congregate behind a fishing vessel Photograph by Graham Robertson The fishery is comprised of four companies: Estremar S.A., Pesantar S.A., Argenova S.A., and San Arawa S.A.  Together these companies operate seven vessels and are assigned the entire TAC for this species in the Argentine Sea. [Click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1540-grey-petrels-set-to-benefit-from-the-marine-stewardship-s-latest-longline-certification-in-the-southern-ocean) for information on the other toothfish fisheries with MSC certification or undergoing assessment. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 28 October 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/atlantic-albatrosses-pleased-an-argentine-longline-and-trawl-fishery-for-toothfish-aims-for-marine-stewardship-council-certification.md) ## Grey Petrels set to benefit from the Marine Stewardship’s latest longline certification in the Southern Ocean Under the auspices of the SARPC (Syndicat des Armements Réunionnais de Palangriers Congélateurs or Reunion Freezer Longliner Ship owners’ Association) French toothfish fishers on the Kerguelen Plateau in the southern Indian Ocean were granted Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification in August this year ([click here](http://www.msc.org/newsroom/news/french-toothfish-fishers-get-msc-certification?fromsearch=1&isnewssearch=1&b_start:int=10)). The demersal longline fishery for Patagonian Toothfish *Dissostichus eleginoides* operates in the French Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) on the plateau around Iles Kerguelen.  The current Total Allowable Catch (TAC) has been set at 5100 tonnes and is divided among the SARPC’s six fishing companies which operate seven longline vessels ([click here](http://www.msc.org/track-a-fishery/fisheries-in-the-program/certified/southern-ocean/sarpc_toothfish)). “Fishers actively participate in a great number of scientific and exploratory studies and apply conservation measures set by the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources ([CCAMLR](http://www.ccamlr.org)), in particular those concerning the protection of birds, the presence of on-board observers and the monitoring of by-catches.  Of note are the many efforts, which are starting to work, that have been made to reduce the mortality of Grey Petrels [*Procellaria cinerea* – an ACAP-listed species] – these include setting up weighted branchlines, using devices to scare birds away and compulsory night setting of lines.” ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/G/Grey/Grey Petrel Erica Sommer s.jpg) Grey Petrel photographed by Erica Sommer For an earlier news item on the MSC certification process for this Southern Ocean fishery [click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/news-archive/23-2010-news-archive/570-french-sub-antarctic-longline-fishery-seeks-marine-stewardship-council-accreditation). Four other Southern Ocean toothfish fisheries have now been certified by the MSC and one remains under assessment ([click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/news-archive/57-2012-news-archive/1143-albatross-friendly-six-longline-fisheries-for-toothfish-in-the-southern-ocean-have-been-certified-or-are-under-assessment-by-the-marine-stewardship-council)). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 25 October 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/grey-petrels-set-to-benefit-from-the-marine-stewardship-s-latest-longline-certification-in-the-southern-ocean.md) ## Research opportunity to study and help conserve threatened albatrosses and petrels in the United Kingdom’s Overseas Territories The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds ([RSPB](http://www.rspb.org.uk)[http://www.rspb.org.uk/](http://www.rspb.org.uk/)) is seeking a Senior Conservation Scientist (permanent position) to manage a range of research projects on threatened bird species, mainly in the United Kingdom's Overseas Territories in the South Pacific (Henderson Island) and South Atlantic (Gough Island and Tristan da Cunha). Research will be mainly on threatened seabirds and, to a lesser extent, endemic land birds and will include studies of breeding and foraging ecology and the impact of non-native invasive species. “Post holder will be responsible for design, implementation, analysis and reporting of research.  Advanced analytical skills are required as well as good knowledge and skills in a range of field techniques including survey and census techniques, autecology and the use of tracking devices.  The post holder will undertake some field work directly as well as manage others to do so and to work both independently and as part of a large and complex team structure.” ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/A/Atlantic_Yellow_nosed/Atlantic_Yellow_nosed_Albatross1_by_Peter_Ryan.jpg) An Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross: a threatened ACAP-listed species of Gough Island and Tristan da Cunha Photograph by Peter Ryan [Click here](http://www.rspb.org.uk/vacancies/details/355162-senior-conservation-scientist-ukots) for more information and the application pack. The deadline for applications is 31 October 2013. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 23 October 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/research-opportunity-to-study-and-help-conserve-threatened-albatrosses-and-petrels-in-the-united-kingdom-s-overseas-territories.md) ## A longline fishery that does not kill seabirds? Calonectris shearwaters in the Atlantic Salvador García-Barcelona ([Instituto Español de Oceanografía](http://www.ieo.es/centros.html), Spain) and colleagues report in Spanish in [*Collect. Vol. Sci. Pap. ICCAT*](http://www.iccat.int/en/pubs_CVSP.htm) that only one Cory’s Shearwater *Calonectris diomedea* (*sensu lato*) was observed to be killed by a Spanish longline fishery in the Atlantic. The report’s summary follows: “Cory’s shearwater *Calonectris diomedea* is an important non target seabird species caught by the longline fleets operating in the Mediterranean Sea.  At the moment no data have been published about the incidence of Spanish longline fishery in the Atlantic Ocean.  In this context, the analysis of data coming from the Mediterranean based long-line fleet is a new, and important information for the conservation of Cory´s shearwater in the wintering areas of the species.  The main aim of this paper was to describe the incidence of this Spanish fleet operating in the Gulf of Cadiz and Macaroneasian [sic] area on Cory’s shearwater populations.  We used data recorded by an onboard observer program monitoring commercial longline fisheries.  A total of 152 fishing sets were observed, and the number of seabird by-catches was only 1 birds.  According to our results, the longline fishery does not represent an important threat for the conservation of Cory’s shearwater in the area, possibly because the spatial distribution of the effort do not overlap with the migratory routes and foraging areas described for the species in the literature.” **Reference:** García-Barcelona, S., Báez, J.C., Ortiz de Urbina, J.M., Gómez-Vives, M.J. & Macías, D. 2013.  By-catch of Cory’s Shearwater in the commercial longline fisheries based in the Mediterranean coast and operating in east Atlantic waters:  first approach to incidental catches of seabird in the area.  [*Collective Volume of Scientific Papers International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas* 69: 1929-1934.](http://www.iccat.org/Documents/CVSP/CV069_2013/n_4/CV069041929.pdf) ## *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 27 October 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/a-longline-fishery-that-does-not-kill-seabirds-calonectris-shearwaters-in-the-atlantic.md) ## Is that package really for me? Assessing biologging effects on Scopoli’s Shearwaters Matthieu Authier ([Centre d'Écologie Fonctionelle et Évolutive](http://www.cefe.cnrs.fr/en), Montpellier, France) and colleagues have published in the journal [*Methods in Ecology and Evolution*](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)2041-210X) on how to assess the effects of instrumentation on Scopoli’s Shearwaters *Calonectris diomedea*. The paper’s summary follows: 1.  “Biologging has improved ecological knowledge on an increasing number of species for more than 2 decades.  Most studies looking at the incidence of tags on behavioural, physiological or demographic parameters rely on ‘control’ individuals chosen randomly within the population, assuming that they will be comparable with equipped individuals.  This assumption is usually untestable and untenable since biologging studies are more observational than experimental, and often involve small sample sizes.  Notably, background characteristics of wild animals are, most of the time, unknown.  Consequently, investigating any causal effect of instrumentation is a difficult task, subjected to hidden biases. 2.  We describe the counterfactual model to causal inference which was implicit in early biologging studies.  We adopted methods developed in social and political sciences to construct a posteriori an appropriate control group.  Using biologging data collected on Scopoli's shearwaters (Calonectris diomedea) from a small Mediterranean island, we used this method to achieve objective causal inference on the effect of instrumentation on breeding performance and divorce. 3.  Our method revealed that the sample of instrumented birds was nonrandom.  After identification of a relevant control group, we found no carry-over effects of instrumentation on breeding performance (taking into account imperfect detection probability) or divorce rate in Scopoli's shearwaters. 4.  Randomly chosen control groups can be both counterproductive and ethically dubious via unnecessary additional disturbance of populations.  The counterfactual approach, which can correct for selection bias, has wide applicability to biologging within long-term studies.” ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Shearwaters/Corys/corys_shearwater_john_graham.jpg) Cory's/Scopoli's Shearwater off South Africa, photographed by John Graham **Reference:** Authier, M., Péron, C., Mante, A., Vidal,P. & Grémillet, D. 2013.  Designing observational biologging studies to assess the causal effect of instrumentation. *[*Methods in Ecology and Evolution* 4: 802-810](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/2041-210X.12075/abstract)*. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 24 October 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/is-that-package-really-for-me-assessing-biologging-effects-on-scopoli-s-shearwaters.md) ## Longline and gillnet fisheries kill Scopoli’s Shearwaters in the Mediterranean’s Ionian Sea Georgios Karris ([Department of Environmental Technology and Ecology](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_Educational_Institute_of_the_Ionian_Islands), Technological Educational Institute of the Ionian Islands, Zakynthos, Greece) and colleagues write in the journal [*Mediterranean Marine Science*](http://www.medit-mar-sc.net/index.php/marine/index) on seabird mortality, including of Scopoli’s Shearwaters *Calonectris diomedea* (a potential candidate for ACAP listing), from longline and gillnet fisheries in the Ionian Sea in the eastern Mediterranean. The paper’s abstract follows: “A significant number of studies worldwide have shown that incidental catches (by-catch) of seabirds in fishing gear might pose a considerable risk for the conservation of their populations.  Nevertheless reliable data on by-catch rates of seabirds in European marine ecosystems are patchy and need to be improved.  This study constitutes a first attempt at the evaluation of by-catch rates in the southern Ionian Sea.  Data were obtained by distributing a specific questionnaire to the fishers of Zakynthos Island.  150 professional fishers (representing 90% of the local fishing fleet) participated in the research, and were interviewed during July-December 2010.  The information collected showed that commercial longline and (to a lesser extent) gillnet fishery gears caused incidental catches mostly of Scopoli’s Shearwater and Mediterranean Shag.  The temporal analysis of the incidental bird mortality showed that seabirds were more susceptible to be trapped in fishery gears set around sunrise during spring and summer whereas spatial analysis of by-catch data indicated variations in the number of seabirds caught in different fishery areas.” ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Shearwaters/Corys/corys_shearwater_john_graham.jpg) Scopoli's/Cory's Shearwater, photographed by John Graham **Reference:** Karris, G., Fric, J., Kitsou, Z., Kalfopoulou, J., Giokas, S., Sfenthourakis, S. & Poirazidis, K. 2013.  Does by-catch pose a threat for the conservation of seabird populations in the southern Ionian Sea (eastern Mediterranean)? A questionnaire based survey of local fisheries.  [*Mediterranean Marine Science* 14(3).  DOI: 10.12681/mms.541](http://www.medit-mar-sc.net/index.php/marine/article/view/541). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 26 October 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/longline-and-gillnet-fisheries-kill-scopoli-s-shearwaters-in-the-mediterranean-s-ionian-sea.md) ## The Packard Foundation continues to address seabird bycatch issues with an updated strategy The [David and Lucile Packard Foundation](http://www.packard.org/) is a private foundation that provides grants to not-for-profit organizations.  It was created in 1964 by David Packard and his wife Lucile Salter Packard. The conservation of marine birds is part of the Packard Foundation’s broader commitment to restore the health and productivity of oceans and coasts, on which all life depends. The Foundation invested US $22.7 million from 2006 to 2012 into marine birds, of which US$3.6 million went to bycatch reduction projects and US$13.6 million for island restoration projects.  “Bycatch reduction projects have reduced global annual seabird bycatch by at least 73,500 birds, mostly albatrosses and petrels.” The Packard Foundation's Marine Birds programme has this month released its updated strategy ([click here](http://www.packard.org/2013/10/marine-birds-subprogram-launches-new-strategy/)) with an intended annual grant budget of US$2.9 million over the next five years. The Foundation informs ACAP: “After reviewing our third-party evaluation and receiving feedback from many of you, our strategy continues to build on three priority areas from the last five years: invasive species eradication on important seabird breeding islands; reduction of seabird bycatch; protection of important shorebird habitat along the Pacific Flyway.  For each initiative, we hope to build upon the progress we have made together and continue to refine our objectives as we learn new information.” The Foundation will continue to support high return on investing in invasive species eradications on important seabird breeding islands. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/T/Tristan/Tristan_Albatross_wounded_Rob_Ronconi_by_Peter_Ryan.jpg)  Tristan Albatrosses will be more secure once Goygh Island's mice are eradicated Photograph by Peter Ryan “We will build on progress made to reduce seabird bycatch by supporting regulatory improvements and fishery gear modifications.  Our support will focus on advocacy for improved fisheries monitoring and reporting as well as outreach around proven bycatch mitigation methods.  We continue to prioritize interventions in areas with high rates of bycatch of threatened and endangered seabirds.” [Click here](http://www.packard.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Marine-Birds-strategy-w-appendices-FINAL.pdf) to access the 30-page *Marine Birds Strategic Plan October 2013*. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 22 October 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/the-packard-foundation-continues-to-address-seabird-bycatch-issues-with-an-updated-strategy.md) ## Where are you from? Identifying provenance of Flesh-footed Shearwaters killed by fisheries in the lab Jenn Lavers ([School of Biological Sciences](http://monash.edu/science/about/schools/biological-sciences/), Monash University, Victoria, Australia) and colleagues have published in the journal [*Marine Ecology Progress Series*](http://www.int-res.com/journals/meps/meps-home/) on identifying provenance of Flesh-footed Shearwaters *Puffinus carneipes* utilizing stable isotope and trace element analyses. The paper’s abstract follows: “An emerging issue in seabird conservation is the ability to link at-sea mortality with observed demographic changes at breeding colonies.  Applications of modelling and biochemical markers can be used to assign mortalities of unknown provenance to a colony of origin ensuring conservation actions are targeted at those colonies identified as the most affected.  We analysed feathers (n = 120) from flesh-footed shearwater *Puffinus carneipes* collected from 5 breeding colonies throughout their range.  Using stable isotopes (δ15N and δ13C) and trace element concentrations (Mn, Ni, Cu, Mo, Ag, Ba, Pb), we assigned birds recovered from fishing vessels off Australia, New Zealand, and the North Pacific to colony of origin, and investigated the rate of correct assignment at 3 spatial scales.  Using quadratic discriminant analysis, samples of known origin were correctly assigned to basin, region, and breeding colonies at similar rates (92.3, 81.3, and 88.1%, respectively).  Stable isotopes succeeded in assigning individuals among basins (72.8%), performing less well at the region and colony level (52.5 and 36.4%, respectively).  In contrast, correct assignment was consistent at all 3 scales using only trace elements (93.2, 95.7, and 96.6%, respectively).  Applying our final model based on trace elements to 116 flesh-footed shearwaters taken as bycatch in eastern Australia (n = 30), Western Australia (n = 32), New Zealand (n = 16), eastern North Pacific (n = 27) and western North Pacific (n = 11), we assigned individuals to colonies in New Zealand (35.3%),  Western/South Australia (36.2%), Western Australia (27.6%), and Lord Howe Island (0.9%). Bycatch in fisheries may help explain ongoing declines in flesh-footed shearwater populations across the species’ range, highlighting the utility of assignment tools to account for unobservable mortality of wildlife at-sea.” ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Shearwaters/Flesh_footed/flesh-footed_shearwater_barry_baker.jpg) Flesh-footed Shearwater, photographed by Barry Baker **Reference:** Linking at-sea mortality of a pelagic shearwater to breeding colonies of origin using biogeochemical markers.  [*Marine Ecology Progress Series* 491:265-275](http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v491/p265-275/). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 21 October 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/where-are-you-from-identifying-provenance-of-flesh-footed-shearwaters-killed-by-fisheries-in-the-lab.md) ## Yelkouan Shearwaters can commence moult while breeding [Karen Bourgeois](http://link.springer.com/search?facet-author="Karen+Bourgeois") and [Sylvain Dromzée](http://link.springer.com/search?facet-author="S.+Dromzée") (A dos d’Îles – Association for the Study and Conservation of Insular Biodiversity, Lançon de Provence, France) writing in the [*Journal of Ornithology*](http://link.springer.com/journal/10336) have looked at onset of moult in breeding Yelkouan Shearwaters *Puffinus yelkoua*n – a species that has been proposed for listing within the Albatross and Petrel Agreement The paper’s abstract follows: “Biochemical analyses of feathers are increasingly used to study seabird at-sea distribution, movements, pollutant exposure and trophic level.  However, such studies are intrinsically related to the knowledge of the target species moulting strategies.  In this study, we analysed the moulting strategies of the Yelkouan Shearwater *Puffinus yelkouan* at three breeding sites, by scoring the moult of wing, tail and body feathers during the breeding season.  While we observed virtually no bird growing its wing feathers, some Yelkouan Shearwaters started moulting their tail and body feathers during late incubation.  Moult intensified during chick-rearing.  We did not find any significant effect of sex, breeding status or year on moulting patterns.  However, moulting strategies varied among individuals, as only a proportion of birds was actively moulting at the various breeding stages and moulting patterns varied among breeding sites.  Based on our study, it is evident that factors determining moulting strategies in the Yelkouan Shearwater remain to be elucidated. This study underlines the need to carefully select the most convenient target feathers to ensure the correct development of studies based on the biochemical analysis of feathers as moulting strategies in seabirds can be rather variable.” ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Shearwaters/Yelkouan/Yelkouan_Shearwater_Matthew_ Borg_Cardona.JPG) Yelkouan Shearwater, photographed by Borg Cardona **Reference:** Bourgeois, K. & Dromzée, S. 2013.  Moulting strategies of the Yelkouan Shearwater Puffinus yelkouan during the breeding season.  [*Journal of Ornithology* DOI 10.1007/s10336-013-1011-y](http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-013-1011-y). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 20 October 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/yelkouan-shearwaters-can-commence-moult-while-breeding.md) ## What makes a successful Wandering Albatross? Effects of pre-laying attendance and body condition on long-term reproductive success Genevieve Jones and Peter Ryan ([FitzPatrick Institute](http://www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za/), University of Cape Town) have studied what makes a successful Wandering Albatross *Diomedea exulans* at South Africa’s[Marion Island](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1371-acap-breeding-sites-no-27-sub-antarctic-marion-island-a-research-laboratory-for-albatrosses-and-petrels). The paper’s in-press abstract in the journal [*Emu*](http://www.publish.csiro.au/nid/96.htm) follows: “To conserve threatened species and understand their population dynamics it is important to protect the most productive individuals, yet there is little information on the characteristics that distinguish such individuals.  Amongst experienced Wandering Albatrosses (*Diomedea exulans*), we show that current breeding performance is correlated with previous breeding success.  By comparing birds with unproductive and productive breeding histories, we test whether we can differentiate more and less successful breeders based on body condition, arrival date and attendance at the colony during the pre-laying period.  Males in pairs with successful reproductive histories were present in the colony for longer than unsuccessful males.  Productive females spent more days with their mates, suggesting that time spent with partners may be indicative of long-term reproductive success.  Overall, birds that bred in a given season arrived earlier and spent more time at the colony than those that deferred breeding.  Individuals with better body condition arrived earlier and spent more time at the colony.  Body condition was independent of year and may indirectly affect the capacity to breed through its influence on arrival date and pre-laying attendance.  Body condition and pre-laying attendance (and indirectly climate and food availability), may influence reproductive success, differentiating more and less successful breeders”. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/W/Wandering/wandering_albatrosses_gen__genevieve_jones.jpg) Genevieve Jones with friends at Marion Island [Click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/news-archive/57-2012-news-archive/224-individual-variation-in-reproductive-success-in-the-wandering-albatross-a-south-african-phd-is-awarded-to-genevieve-jones) to access the abstract of Genevieve’s PhD thesis on Wanderers at Marion. **Reference:** Jones, M.G. & Ryan, P.G. 2013.  Effects of pre-laying attendance and body condition on long-term reproductive success in Wandering Albatrosses.  [*Emu* in press](http://www.publish.csiro.au/view/journals/dsp_journals_pip_abstract_Scholar1.cfm?nid=96&pip=MU12054). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 19 October 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/what-makes-a-successful-wandering-albatross-effects-of-pre-laying-attendance-and-body-condition-on-long-term-reproductive-success.md) ## Another chance to establish Marine Protected Areas in the Southern Ocean? The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources ([CCAMLR](http://www.ccamlr.org)) meeting this month in Hobart, Australia ([click here](http://www.ccamlr.org/en/organisation/worlds-antarctic-marine-experts-converge-hobart)), will once more consider creating new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Antarctic waters.  Support from several Parties to CCAMLR already exists for the proposals as the following extracts from a statement show. “Australia, the European Union, France, New Zealand and the United States jointly call for the establishment this year of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Southern Ocean, in the Ross Sea Region and in East Antarctica. The Ross Sea and East Antarctica regions are widely recognized for their remarkable ecological and scientific importance.  The MPA proposals now before the Commission are based on sound and best available science, will provide a unique laboratory for continuation of marine research, and will have profound and lasting benefits for ocean conservation, including sustainable use of its resources. We call on all Members of the Commission to bring years of preparation to a successful conclusion by establishing these important, science-based MPAs at the next session of the Commission in October 2013 in Hobart, Australia.” ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/L/Light_mantled/light-mantled_albatrosses_ walker_bay_john_chardine.jpg) Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses in Antarctic waters, photographed by Jiohn Chardine  Creation of new MPAs in the Southern Ocean will help protect those species of seabirds that occur in the region, including ACAP-listed albatrosses and petrels.  Although only two ACAP-listed species (Light-mantled Sooty Albatross *Phoebetria palpebrata* and Southern Giant Petrel *Macronectes giganteus*) breed within the Antarctic Treaty area, the waters of the Southern Ocean are important foraging grounds for the many ACAP-listed species that breed on sub-Antarctic islands. [Click here](http://www.antarctica.gov.au/media/news/2013/joint-statement-on-establishment-of-marine-protected-areas-in-the-southern-ocean,-antarctica-foreign-ministers-of-australia,-france,-new-zealand,-the-united-states-and-the-commissioner-for-maritime-affairs-and-fisheries-of-the-european-union) to access the full text of the joint statement. Read more on the MPA proposals [here](http://www.antarctica.gov.au/law-and-treaty/ccamlr/marine-protected-areas) and of earlier attempts to create Antarctic MPAs [here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1444-conserving-the-southern-ocean-ccamlr-to-hold-marine-protected-area-meetings-in-germany-this-month). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 18 October 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/another-chance-to-establish-marine-protected-areas-in-the-southern-ocean.md) ## ACAP Breeding Sites No. 48. Punakaiki, South Island, New Zealand: forest home of the Westland Petrel The wooded hills and scarps of Punakaiki behind the Barrytown Flats, Westland, New Zealand are home to the ACAP-listed and [Vulnerable](http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3924) Westland Petrel *Procellaria westlandica*. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/W/Westland/Westland Petrel Susan Waugh s.jpg) [Punakaiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punakaiki) is located *c*. 60 km north of Greymouth, in the South Island of New Zealand.  The hills are clothed in a dense forest of mixed podocarp forest, including the trees Rata *Trosideros* sp., Miro *Prumnopitys ferruginea* and Matai *P. taxifolia* and tree ferns.  The understorey is a dense tangle of vines, especially Supple-jack *Ripogonum scandens* and Kiekie*Freycinetia banksii*. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/W/Westland/Westland Petrel colony Jean-Claude Stahl 1s.jpg) The climate at the breeding sites is sub-tropical, with very occasional frosts. The high rainfall in the area makes it a damp and challenging environment for agriculture or other industry, hence the region is sparsely populated.  Large parts are protected in natural reserves or national parks. The Westland Petrel breeding area is largely contained within a Specially Protected Area which abuts the [Paparoa National Park](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paparoa_National_Park) on its northern edge.  Other boundaries are adjacent to private land and areas zoned for agriculture, low-density housing or other development. Currently there are no industrial sites in adjoining areas. [![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/W/Westland/Westland Petrel colony Jean-Claude Stahl 2s.jpg)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paparoa_National_Park) Although the risk of mining activity for ilmenite in the area has long been known, the reality of this has come and gone with the flux of economic drivers on resource exploitation.  It appears currently that this possibility is still being actively considered.  If developed, a large industrial complex within the flight path of the birds along the Barrytown Flats poses a strong risk of birds being attracted to the lights of the mineral-production area, and becoming disoriented, crushed by machinery or trapped in areas from which they could not take off. The region in which the petrels currently breed was actively mined from the mid-to-late 1800s, when it was progressively turned over to sheep and cattle farmland, and was logged until the 1980s.  Although these activities occurred on the margins of the main breeding colonies, as we know them today, direct impacts of harvesting and depredation by domestic dogs may have had a strong influence on the population historically.  Farming activities encroached on the colony areas nearest the sea, but since the 1990s have become increasingly redundant on the steeper slopes and wooded areas, and progressively the land abutting the main petrel nesting areas has been added into protected or adjoining quasi-protected areas (e.g. Regional Council Significant Natural Areas).  There are no huts or roads to the colony, and access is by foot and requires permits.  Muttonbirding, a concern for fledging success raised in the 1970s, seems to be in abeyance. Several introduced mammals are known to occur in the petrel colonies, including Brush-tail Possums *Trichosurus vulpecula,* rats, dogs, goats and Stoats *Mustela erminea*.  All of these cause problems for soil stability (browsing species) and/or direct predation of the nesting petrels, particularly of their young. The Westland Petrel is the only ACAP-listed species to breed at this site, which is the only breeding site for the species.  Population estimates of *c*. 4000 pairs have been recorded in two recent surveys during 2004-06. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/W/Westland/Westland Petrel burrows Jean-Claude Stahl s.jpg) Westland Petrels breed in burrows *c*. 1.2 m long at a density of 0.21 – 0.26/m².  They nest under trees and tree-ferns or in dense patches of vines or Kiekie.  In the frequently-used colony areas, the undergrowth is removed and bare soil is exposed year round.  Colonies of 50 – 300 burrows are most common, and one large colony of *c*. 1000 burrows is utilized as the main study colony for demographic research. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/W/Westland/Westland Petrel burrows Jean-Claude Stahl 2s.jpg) The birds frequent the colony for over nine months of the year, arriving in March for pre-nuptial displays, laying in late May to early June, with chick rearing commencing in the last weeks of July.  Chicks are fed until November. Photographs by Jean-Claude Stahl and Susan Waugh. **Selected References:** Baker, A.J. & Coleman, J.D. 1977.  The breeding cycle of the Westland Black Petrel (*Procellaria westlandica*). [*Notornis* 24: 211-231](http://notornis.osnz.org.nz/system/files/Notornis_24_4.pdf). Baker, B., Cunningham, R., Hedley, G. & King, S. 2008.  [*Data Collection of Demographic, Distributional and Trophic Information on the Westland Petrel to allow Estimation of Effects of Fishing on Population Viability.  Unpublished Report Prepared for the Ministry of Fisheries PRO2006-01H*](http://www.latitude42.com.au/attachments/article/6/Westland_Petrel_Report_November_2008.pdf).  Kettering: Latitude 42 Environmental Consultants. Waugh, S.M., Wood, G.C. & Davis, L.S. 2003.  Burrow occupancy in Westland Petrels (*Procellaria westlandica*).  [*Notornis* 50: 123-127](http://notornis.osnz.org.nz/system/files/Notornis_50_3_123.pdf). Waugh, S.M. & Bartle J.A. 2013.  [Westland Petrel](http://www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/westland-petrel).  In: Miskelly, C.M. (Ed.) * New Zealand Birds Online*. Waugh, S.M., Doherty, P.F., Freeman, A.N.D., Adams, L.; Woods, G C., Bartle, J.A. & Hedley, G.K. 2006.  Demography of Westland Petrels (*Procellaria westlandica*), 1995-2003.  [*Emu* 106: 219-226](http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/MU05065.htm). Wood, G.C. & Otley, H.M. 2013.  An assessment of the breeding range, colony sizes and population of the Westland Petrel (*Procellaria westlandica*). [ *New Zealand Journal of Zoology* 40: 186-195](http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03014223.2012.736394#.Ul_6BlCnpPI). *Susan Waugh, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand, 17 October 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/acap-breeding-sites-no-48-punakaiki-south-island-new-zealand-forest-home-of-the-westland-petrel.md) ## Blood and feathers: isotope ratios in albatrosses (and other seabirds) Yves Cherel ([Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé](http://www.cebc.cnrs.fr/), Villiers-en-Bois, France) and colleagues write in the journal [*Marine Biology*](http://link.springer.com/journal/227) on isotope ratios in mollymawk albatrosses of the genus *Thalassarche* (and other seabirds). “Blood and feathers are the most targeted tissues for isotopic investigations in avian ecology, primarily because they can be easily and non-destructively sampled on live individuals.  Comparing blood and feather isotopic ratios can provide valuable information on dietary shifts, trophic specialization and migration patterns, but it requires a good knowledge of the isotopic differences between the two tissues.  Here, δ13C and δ15N values of whole blood (in blood cells of a few species) and simultaneously grown body feathers were measured in seabird chicks to quantify the tissue-related isotopic differences.  Seabirds include 27 populations of 22 wild species that were sampled in 2000–2008, and a review of the literature added 8 groups (including adult birds) to the analysis.  The use of a large data set that overall encompasses wide δ13C and δ15N ranges allowed us to depict for the first time accurate relationships between blood and feather isotopic ratios across avian taxa.  Blood was impoverished in13C and generally in15N compared with feathers.  Both mean δ13C and δ15N values of feathers and blood were highly positively and linearly related [feather δ13C = 0.972 (±0.020) blood δ13C + 0.962 (±0.414), and feather δ15N = 1.014 (±0.056) blood + 0.447 (±0.665), respectively; bothP < 0.0001].  The regressions should be applied to mathematically correct feather or whole blood δ13C and δ15N values when comparing isotopic ratios within and between ecological studies on birds.” ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/I/Indian_Yellow_nosed/Indian_Yellow_nosed_Albatross_Prince_Edward_Island2_by_Peter_Ryan.jpg) Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross with chick, photographed by Peter Ryan **Reference:** Cherel, Y., Jaquemet, S., Maglio, A. & Jaeger, A. 2013.  Differences in δ13C and δ15N values between feathers and blood of seabird chicks: implications for non-invasive isotopic investigations.  [*Marine Biology* DOI 10.1007/s00227-013-2314-5](http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00227-013-2314-5). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 16 October 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/blood-and-feathers-isotope-ratios-in-albatrosses-and-other-seabirds.md) ## Satellite-tracking Sooty Albatrosses from Marion Island: a preliminary report Tshikana Rasehlomi & Mathieu Rouault (University of Cape Town, South Africa) report on satellite-tracking Sooty Albatrosses *Phoebetria fusca* from sub-Antarctic Marion Island. “The study aims to explore the role of mesoscale oceanographic features in creating foraging habitats for the majestic, yet elusive, top marine predator, the albatross.  The study uses sooty albatross tracked from Marion Island, one of the Prince Edward Islands.  The population of the sooty albatross (Phoebetria Fusca) [sic] has declined to low and unsustainable levels due to predation and conflict with high seas fisheries.  To address the conservation status of this seabird, the study aims to investigate the at-sea distribution of the sooty albatross in relation to dynamic marine pelagic environments.  The study builds on previous knowledge of seabird interactions and foraging ecology to understand the nature of seabird aggregations in relation to the locality of mesoscale oceanographic features.” ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/S/Sooty/Sooty_Albatross_by_Ross_Wanless.jpg) A Sooty Albatross over the sea, photographed by Ross Wanless **Reference:** Tshikana Rasehlomi, T. & Mathieu Rouault, M. 2013. [The albatross: an indicator of regions of high mesoscale variability in pelagic environments](http://www.access.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/ACCESS-Research-Highlights-20131.pdf).  In:  ACCESS Research Highlights 2013. pp. 28-27. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 15 October 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/satellite-tracking-sooty-albatrosses-from-marion-island-a-preliminary-report.md) ## First records of the Northern Giant Petrel ashore on Gough Island Karen Bourgeois ([FitzPatrick Institute](http://www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za), University of Cape Town, South Africa) and colleagues report two Northern Giant Petrels *Macronectes halli* ashore on Gough Island in the South Atlantic, first records for the island. “Given that NGPs are regular non-breeding visitors to the archipelago’s inshore waters, the observation of NGPs ashore on Gough Island was expected; some individuals are likely to rest or even search for carrion while hunting nearby.  However, the NGP  observed in association with Gough’s SGP [Southern Giant Petrel *M. giganteu*s] colony, near active breeders and nests, is of considerable interest as it indicates the  possibility of hybridization in the future, if not already, between the two Giant Petrel [sic] species on this island. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/N/Northern_Giant/Northern Giant Petrel Gough Sylvain Dromzee 4s.jpg) ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/N/Northern_Giant/Northern Giant Petrel Gough Sylvain Dromzee 1s.jpg)![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/N/Northern_Giant/Northern Giant Petrel Gough Sylvain Dromzee 2s.jpg)![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/N/Northern_Giant/Northern Giant Petrel Gough Sylvain Dromzee 3s.jpg) A Northern Giant Petrel ashore on Gough within a Southern Giant Petrel breeding colony Photographs by Sylvain Dromzée  For an earlier report on the photographed bird [click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/news-archive/57-2012-news-archive/1166-first-record-of-a-northern-giant-petrel-ashore-on-gough-island). **Reference:** Bourgeois, K. Wilson, J.W. & Dromzée, S. 2013.  First records of the Northern Giant Petrel Macronectes halli ashore on Gough Island.  [*Marine Ornithology* 41: 135-136](http://marineornithology.org/PDF/41_2/41_2_135-136.pdf). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 14 October 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/first-records-of-the-northern-giant-petrel-ashore-on-gough-island.md) ## Manx Shearwaters breeding in Newfoundland, Canada Gail Fraser (Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University, Toronto, Canada) and colleagues write in the journal *Marine Ornithology* of Manx Shearwaters*Puffinus puffinus* breeding in Canada. **Reference:** Gail S. Fraser, G.S., Russell, J., Robertson, G.J., Bryant, R. & Fifield, D.A. 2013.  Prospects for the Manx Shearwater colony on Middle Lawn Island, Newfoundland, Canada.  [*Marine Ornithology* 41: 137-140](http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/41_2/41_2_137-138.pdf). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 13 October 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/manx-shearwaters-breeding-in-newfoundland-canada.md) ## Planning for a Chatham Island Albatross Translocation Project well underway Established in 1998, the [Chatham Islands Taiko Trust](http://www.taiko.org.nz/index.html) was originally created to conserve the endangered Magenta Petrel or Taiko *Pterodroma magentae* of New Zealand's Chatham Islands.  Over the years, the Trust has expanded its conservation aims to provide the Chatham Island community with the opportunity and tools needed to enhance natural habitats and preserve other unique wildlife on their islands. A proposal to establish a second breeding colony of Chatham Island Albatrosses*Thalassarche eremita* at a site near Point Gap, Tuku Farm using a chick translocation programme has been made. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/C/Chatham/Chatham Albatross Lorna Deppe 5 shrunk.jpg)  A Chatham Albatross feeds its chick on The Pyramid, photographed by Lorna Deppe The Chatham Island Albatross is a New Zealand endemic species that only breeds on one island, [The Pyramid](https://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1315-acap-breeding-sites-no-9-the-pyramid-chatham-islands-new-zealand). It is presently listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as Vulnerable, and its status cannot be improved without the establishment of a second colony. The project aims will be achieved by a chick-translocation programme, following methods developed by the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology which is attempting to establish a new breeding population of threatened Short-tailed Albatrosses *Phoebastria albatrus* on Japan’s Mukojima Island ([click here](https://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/news-archive/57-2012-news-archive/1122-the-translocated-short-tailed-albatrosses-on-mukojima-have-produced-their-first-egg)). Over a period of three summers, chicks will be collected from The Pyramid at two different stages during the breeding season and transferred via boat to the release site. Chicks will be fed and monitored daily until fledging in three to four months time.  Fledged chicks could start returning to the colony at the age of four, and begin breeding at the age of seven. Prior to the translocation of chicks, the release site will be developed to simulate an active albatross colony.  This will include the installation of artificial nests, deploying model adult albatrosses, and establishing a sound system playing Chatham Albatross calls. The Taiko Trust is partnering with the Yamashina Institute of Ornithology in Japan as well as Chatham Island landowners, Bruce and Liz Tuanui. Additional support for the project has been received from The Royal Forest and Bird Society, BirdLife International, Chatham Island Conservation Board, Enterprise Trust, and Council, the Daymond Family (owners of The Pyramid), as well as from the local community. To find out more details about the translocation project [click here](http://www.taiko.org.nz/trust_projects_sp6.html). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 12 October 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/planning-for-a-chatham-island-albatross-translocation-project-well-underway.md) ## A Southern Giant Petrel scavenges on a Northern Rockhopper Penguin at sea far from land A Southern Giant Petrel *Macronectes giganteus* identified as coming from the Low Hump demographic study colony on Gough Island by the presence of a yellow engraved band on its left leg was photographed landing next to and then attempting to tear open and feed from a Northern Rockhopper Penguin *Eudyptes moseleyi* carcass (identified by its long head plumes) floating on the sea surface.  The observation was made at 36° 28’S, 05° 51’W in reasonably calm conditions in the South Atlantic from the *S.A. Agulhas II*on its return passage to Cape Town from Gough and Tristan da Cunha on 5 October, some 550 kilometres away from the bird’s breeding locality. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/S/Southern_Giant/Southern Giant Petrel with penguin Peter Ryan.jpg)  Unfortunately, the colour band’s alphanumeric code could not be read due to it being photographed under water.  Individual identification would have allowed assignment of gender and breeding status, as was done earlier for three female colour-banded Southern Giant Petrel seen off Tristan da Cunha in September and early October – all of which were incubating their eggs on Gough 380 km away as little as five days before ([click here](https://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1503-a-southern-giant-petrel-from-gough-visits-tristan-da-cunha)). With thanks to Peter Ryan for the photograph. Research on ACAP-listed species on the outer islands of Tristan da Cunha is funded by the UK's [Overseas Territories Environment Programme](http://www.ukotcf.org/otep/) and the Darwin Initiative Programme via the [Royal Society for the Protection of Birds](http://www.rspb.org.uk/) and by the FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town.  It is conducted with the support and approval of the Tristan Conservation Department and the logistic support of the South African Department of Environmental Affairs. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 11 October 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/a-southern-giant-petrel-scavenges-on-a-northern-rockhopper-penguin-at-sea-far-from-lan.md) ## Mouse attack! A Critically Endangered Tristan Albatross receives a severe head wound The fatal attacks by introduced House Mice *Mus musculus* on chicks of near-endemic and Critically Endangered Tristan Albatrosses *Diomedea dabbenena* on World Heritage Gough Island must surely now be well known ([click here](https://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1512-the-carnage-continues-censuses-of-critically-endangered-tristan-albatrosses-on-gough-island-reveal-a-further-poor-breeding-year-due-to-attacks-by-mice)). Each year researchers on the island report grievous wounds inflicted by mice on downy chicks after the end of the brood stage in winter, with repeated annual surveys showing a consistently too-low breeding success for the species’ ultimate survival.  Most wounds are found on the birds’ rumps.  Every now and then though wounds are recorded elsewhere on the body, some quite horrific in appearance. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/T/Tristan/GonyNibbled Peter Ryan 19 Sept 2013 s.jpg)  The chick photographed here with its face partially eaten away and bone exposed was found in the north of the island on 19 September this year.  No return visit has yet been made to see if it has survived, but given the tendency for Southern Giant Petrels *Macronectes giganteus* to “clean up” wounded and moribund chicks the mornings after nocturnal mice have done their grisly work, it seem likely it has not. Eradication of the island’s mice by aerial poison baiting seems the only cure.  Roll on the day! With thanks to Peter Ryan for the photograph. Research on ACAP-listed species on the outer islands of Tristan da Cunha is funded by the UK's [Overseas Territories Environment Programme](http://www.ukotcf.org/otep/)and theDarwin Initiative Programme via the [Royal Society for the Protection of Birds](http://www.rspb.org.uk/)and by the FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town.  It is conducted with the support and approval of the Tristan Conservation Department and the logistic support of the South African Department of Environmental Affairs. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 10 October 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/mouse-attack-a-critically-endangered-tristan-albatross-receives-a-severe-head-wound.md) ## ¿Amigos para siempre? An Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross and a Tristan Skua decide to breed on each other’s door step Albatrosses and skuas generally make uneasy neighbours.  On Gough Island breeding Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatrosses *Thalassarche chlororhynchos*tend to look up suspiciously when a predatory Tristan Skua *Catharacta antarctica hamiltoni* flies overhead too low for comfort. On Gough skuas do commonly breed within and on the edges of loose colonies of yellow-nosed albatrosses but distances between their nests are likely to be of the order of 5-10 metres or more.  Unusual then to see an incubating skua and a yellow-nosed albatross breeding with the facing edges of their nests no more than a metre apart beside the Gony River path as we descended from surveys in the mountains of Gough last month. Field researchers remaining on the island for the year will be able to follow the fortunes of these two breeding attempts to see if the spirit of interspecific friendship remains. *¿Amigos para siempre?* ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/A/Atlantic_Yellow_nosed/OddNeighbours Peter Ryan Sept 2013 s.jpg)  With thanks to Peter Ryan for the photograph. Research on ACAP-listed species on the outer islands of Tristan da Cunha is funded by the UK's [Overseas Territories Environment Programme](http://www.ukotcf.org/otep/) and theDarwin Initiative Programme via the [Royal Society for the Protection of Birds](http://www.rspb.org.uk/) and by the FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town.  It is conducted with the support and approval of the Tristan Conservation Department and the logistic support of the South African Department of Environmental Affairs. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 09 October 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/cozying-up-an-atlantic-yellow-nosed-albatross-and-a-tristan-skua-decide-to-breed-on-each-other-s-door-step.md) ## The ACAP Secondment Programme makes a call for applications The Albatross and Petrel Agreement has established a secondment programme for the purpose of building capacity within its Parties and as a means of achieving tasks within the work programmes of its Advisory Committee and Secretariat (see [the Report](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/advisory-committee/cat_view/128-english/15-advisory-committee/413-ac7/429-ac7-report) of the Seventh Meeting of the ACAP Advisory Committee, Annexes 5 and 4, respectively). Total funding of approximately AUD 20 000 is available for the 2013-2014 secondment round for travel and living costs associated with secondees undertaking a placement at the Agreement’s Secretariat in Hobart or at another organisation.  Applications close on 25 November 2013. [Click here](http://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/documents/secretariat-documents/cat_view/128-english/291-secretariat/316-grant-applications) for more information and for the application form. *ACAP Secretariat, 04 October 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/the-acap-secondment-programme-makes-a-call-for-aplications.md) ## Save our Seabirds Festival, Cape Town, South Africa, 7-13 October 2013 The Save our Seabirds Festival will be held once more in Cape Town, South Africa this month. “Seabirds are the most threatened group of birds in the world, with almost one-third of all seabird species threatened with extinction.  Most of the majestic albatross species that roam the Southern Ocean have rapidly declining populations and, closer to home, our iconic African Penguin *Spheniscus demersus* is now classified as Endangered. The annual Save Our Seabirds (SOS) Festival aims to raise awareness about the plight of seabirds and celebrate the beauty of marine life. The 2013 programme includes the popular Marine Conservation Lecture Series at the Iziko South African Museum in Cape Town. Speakers this year include Professor George Branch, a world-renowned marine scientist and author, and Mike Gunton, creative director at the BBC Natural History Unit, who has produced and directed many memorable documentaries. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/L/Light_mantled/Light mantled albatross by Rowan Treblico.jpg) Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses, phot0graphed by Rowan Treblico A highlight of the festival is the Oceans of Life photographic competition, which offers the world’s biggest prize for marine photography – the ORYX award, a trip for two to Spitsbergen, Norway, from One Oceans Expeditions and ORYX Worldwide Photographic Expeditions, valued at up to US$15 000.  The top 50 photographs from the competition will be on display at the Iziko South African Museum." For more details about the SOS Festival, visit *[www.sosfestival.co.za](http://www.sosfestival.co.za).* *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 04 October 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/save-our-seabirds-festival-cape-town-south-africa-7-13-october-2013.md) ## Helping Laysan Albatrosses and Newell’s Shearwaters in Hawaii: Nihoku Ecosystem Restoration Project Draft Environmental Assessment now available A while back, *ACAP Latest News* reported on plans to build a second predator-proof fence on the Hawaiian island of Kauai as part of the [Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge](http://www.fws.gov/kilaueapoint/)([click here](https://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1411-hawaii-s-laysan-albatrosses-to-get-another-predator-proof-fence-this-time-on-kauai)).  The fence (728 m long to enclose a three-hectare area) aims to protect Laysan Albatrosses or mōlī *Phoebastria immutabilis* and Newell’s Shearwaters or ‘a‘o *Puffinus newelli* from introduced predators such as feral domestic dogs *Canis familiaris* and cats *Felis catus*, rats *Rattus* spp., House Mice *Mus musculus* and Small Indian Mongoose *Herpestes auropunctatus*. The Draft Environmental Assessment (DEA) for the Nihoku Ecosystem Restoration Project (NERP) is now available ([click here](http://www.fws.gov/pacific/news/news.cfm?id=2144375292)). “This project comes at a particularly important time for Kaua‘i's seabirds which are now potentially being preyed on by mongooses, a new introduced predator in Kaua‘i's ecosystem.  The DEA concludes that the NERP would have primarily positive impacts on the biological resources of the Refuge and no significant impacts would be anticipated.  The full DEA is now available for public review and comment up until 31 October 2013 ([click here](http://www.fws.gov/kilaueapoint/NERP_fullDEA_final_9.4.13.pdf)).  Have your say! ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/L/Laysan/Laysan Albatross 2 Midway Pete Leary s.jpg) A Laysan Albatross broods its hatchling, photographed by Pete Leary [Click here](https://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1359-predator-proof-fences-are-helping-to-protect-procellariiform-seabirds-including-acap-listed-albatrosses-and-petrels) to read how predator-proof fences are helping procellariiform seabirds around the World. **Selected References:** Anden Consulting 2013. [Draft Environmental Assessment Nihoku Ecosystem Restoration Project Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge Kaua‘i, Hawai‘i September 2013](http://www.fws.gov/kilaueapoint/NERP_fullDEA_final_9.4.13.pdf).  Honolulu: Anden Consulting.  169 pp. Young, L.C., VanderWerf, E.A., Lohr, M.T., Miller, C.J., Titmus, A.J., Peters, D. & Wilson, L. 2013.  Multi-species predator eradication within a predator-proof fence at Ka‘ena Point, Hawai‘i.  *[Biological Invasions](http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10530-013-0479-y)*[*.* DOI 10.1007/s10530-013-0479-y](https://www.acap.aq/index.php/news/latest-news/1411-hawaii-s-laysan-albatrosses-to-get-another-predator-proof-fence-this-time-on-kauai). Young, L.C., VanderWerf, E.A., Mitchell, C., Yuen, E., Miller, C.J., Smith, D.G. & Swenson, C. 2012.  [The use of Predator Proof Fencing as a Management Tool in the Hawaiian Islands: a Case Study of Ka`ena Point Natural Area Reserve](http://www.pacificrimconservation.com/PDF_Docs/83_Young_et_al_2012_Kaena_fence_technical_report.pdf).  Technical Report No. 180. Honolulu: The Hawai`i-Pacific Islands Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit & Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit, University of Hawai`i.  82 pp. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 03 October 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/helping-laysan-albatrosses-and-newell-s-shearwaters-in-hawaii-nihoku-ecosystem-restoration-project-draft-environmental-assessment-now-available.md) ## A fatty large breast: Catalan author, playwright, poet and journalist Josep Sagarra describes a Laysan Albatross *ACAP Latest News* has been publishing an occasional series on albatrosses and petrels in literature, with poems by Roy Campbell, Lewis Carroll, Pablo Neruda and others covered.  This latest offering comes courtesy of Miguel McMinn who lives on Spain’s Balearic Islands and studies ACAP’s most recently listed species, the Critically Endangered Balearic Shearwater *Puffinus mauretanicus* ([click here](https://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1492-acap-breeding-sites-no-46-the-cabrera-archipelago-maritime-terrestrial-national-park-supports-balearic-shearwaters-in-the-absence-of-introduced-predators)). Josep Maria Sagarra (5 March 1894 - 27 September 1961) was a Catalan playwright, poet and journalist who also published narrative literature and non-fiction books on travel.  He also translated classics of theatre by Shakespeare and Molière into Catalan.  “Sagarra’s brilliant career was cut short by the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War.  The playwright had to flee Spanish Catalonia and did not return until 1940.  His silence as a theatrical author was prolonged, until 1946, due to the prohibition of performances in Catalan.” ([click here](http://www20.gencat.cat/portal/site/culturacatalana/menuitem.be2bc4cc4c5aec88f94a9710b0c0e1a0/?vgnextoid=67a6ef2126896210VgnVCM1000000b0c1e0aRCRD&vgnextchannel=67a6ef2126896210VgnVCM1000000b0c1e0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=detall2&contentid=12ecf62524fd7210VgnVCM1000008d0c1e0aRCRD&newLang=en_GB)). The work of Sagarra is full of mentions about birds and wildlife.  He was an enthusiastic birdwatcher and published several books about birds.  *El ocells amics* is a non-fiction description of the birds he loved. *La Ruta Blava Viatge a les Mars del Sud* (The Blue Route a Voyage to the South Seas) is a narrative description of a long voyage (1936-1938) Sagarra and his wife undertook while in exile from Marseille in France via Martinique, Guadeloupe and the Panama Canal to Tahiti in French Polynesia.  The book is a detailed description of the places he visited, describing traditions encountered and reporting on the influence of European culture.  In his book Sagarra mentions bird species, some with descriptions that are fascinating.  The book was quite popular. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Posters_Books/Sagarra La Ruta Blava.jpg) This is the description of the albatross from *La Ruta Blava* in Catalan: *Grassa de pit, curta de cua, llarga de bec i de coll, vastíssima i imperial d’enverga- dura de les ales, un vuitanta per cent blan- ca i un vint per cent negra, aquesta au, solitària i enorme, era un albatros.* This translates as: A fatty large breast and a short tail, long beak and neck, giant and superb imperial wing span, 80% white and 20% black, this large and lonely bird was an Albatross. La Ruta Blava was first published in Spanish (titled *El Camino Blue*) in 1942 and posthumously in Catalan in 1964.  His son has made a TV documentary of the journey ([click here](http://www.tv3.cat/videos/1307319)). It seems possible to guess what species of albatross Sagarra wrote about from his route and brief description.  He would not have seen an albatross in the North Atlantic or Caribbean so his sighting must have been in the Pacific.  Given that the Waved Albatross *Phoebastria irrorata* has a purely southerly at-sea distribution from The Galapagos Islands it seems a Laysan Albatross *P. immutabilis* was the most likely black and white albatross Sagarra saw between Panama and Tahiti. **Reference:** Ferrer, X.  2005.  Josep Maria de Sagarra i de Castellarnau (1894-1961) I l’ornitologia mediàtica catalane.  [*l’Abellerol* 26: 8-10.](http://www.ornitologia.org/ca/queoferim/divulgacio/publicacions/abellerol.html) *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 2 October 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/catalan-author-playwright-poet-and-journalist-josep-sagarra-describes-a-laysan-albatross.md) ## Research on Sooty Albatrosses on Gough Island: are they at risk to mice? In October 1982 I set up a small study of ACAP-listed Sooty Albatrosses *Phoebetria fusca* on Gough Island in the South Atlantic during the annual relief of the South African weather station.  With colleagues at the University of Cape Town’s FitzPatrick Institute I colour- and metal-banded incubating birds along the coastal cliffs in Transvaal Bay near the weather station.  The study continued annually until the 1989/90 season ([click here](https://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1509-bad-boy-gerald-a-gough-island-sooty-albatross-is-still-going-strong-at-over-26)).  In two years meteorologists at the weather station followed the fortunes of the nests marked in September/October until the surviving chicks fledged the following year - with markedly different results.  In 1982/83 10 chicks fledged out of 11 eggs laid (giving a breeding success of 91%), but in contrast in 1984/85 only two fledglings survived out of again 11 eggs (15%). In 2012 the study was resuscitated in much the same section of coastal cliffs ([click here](https://www.acap.aq/sooty-albatrosses-are-the-fourth-acap-listed-species-on-gough-island-to-get-a-demographic-study%20http:/www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1448-population-trends-and-breeding-success-of-albatrosses-and-giant-petrels-at-gough-island)).  This time 23 nests in which eggs appeared were followed through the breeding season, from which only eight chicks fledged this year (34.8%).  In four years within the period 2000 to 2010 monitored areas in which counts of nests at the time of egg-laying and again at pre-fledging were made breeding success averaged 48 ± 5% ([click here](https://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/news-archive/57-2012-news-archive/1182-a-new-cliff-hanger-sooty-albatrosses-are-the-fourth-acap-listed-species-on-gough-island-to-get-a-demographic-study)). ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/S/Sooty/Sooty_Albatross_chick_dead_by_Paul_Visser1.jpg) Sooty Albatross chick killed by mice on Gough Island, photographed by Paul Visser Is the sometimes poor breeding success caused, at least in part, by attacks from Gough’s predatory House Mice *Mus musculus* that resulted in the deaths of two Sooty Albatross chicks in 2008 as was reported this year in the journal *Antarctic Science* ([click here](https://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/latest-news/1397-two-more-albatross-species-reported-attacked-by-the-killer-mice-of-gough-island))?  The second year of the new study is now underway with the first study egg appearing on 27 September.  Hopefully breeding success will be better once the mice are eventually eradicated from the island. [Click here](https://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/news-archive/57-2012-news-archive/1181-goings-on-on-gough-extra-pair-copulation-in-sooty-albatrosses)to read of extra-pair copulation in Gough’s Sooties observed in 2012. With thanks to Mara Nydegger for information. Research on ACAP-listed species on the outer islands of Tristan da Cunha is funded by the UK's [Overseas Territories Environment Programme](http://www.ukotcf.org/otep/)and the Darwin Initiative Programme via the [Royal Society for the Protection of Birds](http://www.rspb.org.uk/) and by the FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town.  It is conducted with the support and approval of the Tristan Conservation Department and the logistic support of the South African Department of Environmental Affairs. **Selected references** Cuthbert, R.J., Cooper, J. & Ryan, P.G. 2013.  Population trends and breeding success of albatrosses and giant petrels at Gough Island in the face of at-sea and on-land threats.  [*Antarctic Scienc*e  doi:10.1017/S0954102013000424](http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8952593&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S0954102013000424). Cuthbert, R.J., Louw, H., G. Parker, G., Rexer-Huber, K. & Visser, P. 2013.  Observations of mice predation on dark-mantled sooty albatross and Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross chicks at Gough Island.  [*Antarctic Science*  doi:10.1017/S0954102013000126](http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract;jsessionid=73C08E714457FA7AFE31377E4FA42F61.journals?fromPage=online&aid=8924752). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, leaving Gough Island, 01 October 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/research-on-sooty-albatrosses-on-gough-island-are-they-at-risk-to-mice.md) ## Keeping observers in the loop: a training capacity workshop is held in Chile A training capacity workshop for observers from the [Instituto de Fomento Pesquero](http://www.ifop.cl/) (Fisheries Development Institute) in Chile was held in Talcahuano in the Institute’s facilities over 23-28 September. The three-day course was led by Jorge Azócar (Instituto de Fomento Pesquero) with the participation of Valentina Colodro ([Oikonos](http://oikonos.org/)) and Luis Cabezas, Cristian Suazo and Juan Carlos González (BirdLife's [ATF Chile](http://www.atfchile.cl/))). Observers were trained in the identification of marine birds regularly attending trawlers, in following sampling protocols for birds interacting with the fleet, and in the construction and use of bird-scaring lines. The main goal of the workshop was to improve data collection on seabird interactions and mortality in trawl fisheries operating in central-southern Chile. Observers participating in the course were to end it with a field trip aboard a vessel. Chile is one of the several South American countries that are Parties to ACAP and which hold a great diversity and abundance of procellariiform seabirds within their waters.  Chile adopted its National Plan of Action-Seabirds ([NPOA-S](http://www.subpesca.cl/template/tablas_chicas/04.asp?IDSECCION=2015%20http://www.acap.aq/en/images/NPOA/chile_pan_aves.pdf)) in 2006. The NPOA-S is framed within the FAO's IPOA-S and follows the objectives of the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/People/Chilean observers s.jpg)  Chilean observers being trained aboard a vessel, photograph by Jorge Azócar With thanks to Jorge Azócar for the information and picture provided. *Juan Pablo Seco Pon, ACAP South American News Correspondent, 30 September 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/keeping-observers-in-the-loop-a-training-capacity-workshop-is-held-in-chile.md) ## Small and smart: Wilson’s Storm Petrels taking advantage of kills made by dolphins Fabio Olmos (São Paulo, Brazil) and colleagues have opportunistically registered a feeding association between one of the smallest procellariiform birds, Wilson’s Storm Petrel *Oceanites oceanicus* and Rough-toothed Dolphins *Steno bredanensis* off the south-east coast of Brazil. Their record was obtained as part of a citizen science project aimed at increasing the knowledge of local communities of seabirds and marine mammals.  Their findings have been published recently in the online version of [*Biota Neotropica*](http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br). The paper’s English abstract follows: “On 06 October 2012 a pod of Rough-toothed Dolphins *Steno bredanensis* (Delphinidae) was observed catching and tearing apart several Castin Leatherjacks *Oligoplites saliens* (Carangidae) near Montão de Trigo Island, northern coast of São Paulo, Brazil.  The resulting floating masses of viscera attracted a feeding aggregation of 120-150 Wilson's Storm-petrels *Oceanites oceanicus* (Hydrobatidae), a transequatorial migrant passing through the area during October.  This interspecific association has not been recorded before, although it could be expected given that *S. bredanensis* feeds on large fish and *O. oceanicus* is a known scavenger of kills made by cetaceans such as Killer Whales”. **Reference:** Olmos, F., Rotenberg, E. & Muscat, E. 2013.  A feeding association between Wilson's Storm-petrels *Oceanites oceanicus* and Rough-toothed Dolphins *Steno bredanensis.*  [*Biota Neotropica*13: 303-307](http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v13n2/en/abstract?shortcommunication+bn01013022013). *Juan Pablo Seco Pon, ACAP South American News Correspondent, 29 September 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/small-does-not-means-being-smart-wilson-s-storm-petrels-taking-advantage-of-kills-made-by-dolphins.md) ## The most northerly population of Southern Giant Petrels get surveyed on World Heritage Gough Island Last year *ACAP Latest News* reported on the first complete census of Southern Giant Petrels *Macronectes giganteus* on Gough Island, the species’ most northerly breeding site.  A total of 253 incubating birds was counted at four widely-separated localities around the island ([click here](https://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/news-archive/57-2012-news-archive/1180-first-complete-island-survey-of-southern-giant-petrels-undertaken-at-gough-island-the-species-most-northerly-breeding-locality)). This year the survey was repeated during the annual relief of the South African weather station with 222 incubating birds counted this month.  The lower number reflects the fewer pairs (49 as against *c.* 85 last year) found in “Giant Petrel Valley” in the north of the island.  However, the Low Hump colony (where a demographic study with colour-banded birds is going into its fourth year) had a few more nests with eggs (173 as against 166), probably because nest staking commenced earlier than in 2012, thus capturing some early failures. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/S/Southern_Giant/Southern_Giant_Petrel_Gough_Ross_Cowlin.JPG) A Southern Giant Petrel on Gough Island, photographed by Ross Cowlin Research on Southern Giant Petrels on Gough has been funded by the UK's [Overseas Territories Environment Programme](http://www.ukotcf.org/otep/) via the [Royal Society for the Protection of Birds](http://www.rspb.org.uk/) and the FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town and by a Captain Simpson Fellowship of the [Royal Naval Birdwatching Society](http://www.rnbws.org.uk/pages.php?page_name=about) awarded to John Cooper in 2010.  Activities ashore are conducted with the approval of the Tristan Conservation Department and are supported logistically by the South African Department of Environmental Affairs. **Selected Reference:** Cuthbert, R.L., Ryan, P.G. & Cooper, J. 2013.  Population trends and breeding success of albatrosses and giant petrels at Gough Island in the face of at-sea and on-land threats.  [Antarctic Sciencedoi:10.1017/S0954102013000424](http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8952593&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S0954102013000424). *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, on Gough Island, 28 September 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/the-most-northerly-population-of-southern-giant-petrels-get-surveyed-on-world-heritage-gough-island.md) ## The carnage continues: censuses of Critically Endangered Tristan Albatrosses on Gough Island reveal a further poor breeding year due to attacks by mice As in previous years two complete-island censuses have been undertaken this year of breeding Tristan Albatrosses *Diomedea dabbenena* on World Heritage Site Gough Island.  This Critically Endangered albatross is threatened with extinction by predatory attacks by Gough’s ‘killer” House Mice *Mus musculus*, as well as by longline mortality at sea. In January this year field researchers Chris Bell and Mara Nydegger counted a total of 1748 incubating birds using scan counts from vantage points.  This month a team led by Peter Ryan of the University of Cape Town’s Percy FitzPatrick Institute repeated the survey, counting 578 large chicks.  This represents (so far) a breeding success of only 33.1%, far too low to sustain a population of great albatrosses.  During the chick count graphic photographic evidence of wounds from mice on still-living chicks was obtained.  Earlier, birds wounded by mice at night have been filmed succumbing to attacks by Southern Giant Petrels *Macronectes giganteus* the next morning. Last year’s figures were 1421 incubators and 482 chicks, reflecting a smaller cohort for this biennially-breeding species, but a similar (and low) breeding success of 33.9% ([click here](https://www.acap.aq/index.php/en/news/news-archive/57-2012-news-archive/1191-tristan-albatrosses-on-gough-yet-another-poor-breeding-season-seems-certain-due-to-attacks-by-alien-house-mice)). Search on “Gough Tristan Albatross” on this web site to read earlier stories on the plight of Gough's Tristan Albatrosses – and of developing plans to eradicate the island’s mice. ![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/T/Tristan/Wounded chick Karen Bourgeois_ Sylvain Dromzee shrunk.jpg) A Tristan Albatross severely wounded by alien mice on Gough Island in 2012 Photograph by Karen Bourgeois and Sylvain Dromzee Research on ACAP-listed species on the outer islands of Tristan da Cunha is funded by the UK's [Overseas Territories Environment Programme](http://www.ukotcf.org/otep/) and the Darwin Initiative Programme via the [Royal Society for the Protection of Birds](http://www.rspb.org.uk/) and by the FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town.  It is conducted with the support and approval of the Tristan Conservation Department and the logistic support of the South African Department of Environmental Affairs. *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, on Gough Island, 27 September 2013* [Lees meer...](https://www.acap.aq/2013-news-archive/the-carnage-continues-censuses-of-critically-endangered-tristan-albatrosses-on-gough-island-reveal-a-further-poor-breeding-year-due-to-attacks-by-mice.md) ## Seasonal variation of seabirds in the south-eastern Bering Sea George Hunt ([School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences](http://fish.washington.edu/), University of Washington, Seattle, USA) and colleagues write in the journal [Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09670645) on seabirds, including of the three ACAP-listed Northern Pacific albatrosses *Phoebastria* spp., in the south-eastern Bering Sea. The paper’s abstract follows: “We tested the hypothesis that the distribution of seabird species' associations across the southeastern Bering Sea shelf reflects the underlying ecology of four bathymetrically-defined hydrographic domains: the Inner or Coastal Shelf Domain (depth (Z)<50 m), the Middle Shelf Domain (50 m