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The Chief Islander of Tristan da Cunha, Police Inspector Conrad Glass, has presented a book on albatrosses to UK Minister Chris Bryant, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Overseas Territories in the Foreign Office.

The occasion, the Eleventh Meeting of the Overseas Territories Consultative Council, took place in London on 9 December 2009.  Conrad was representing the UK Overseas Territory of Tristan da Cunha at the annual meeting.

Chief Islander Conrad Glass presents Minister Chris Bryant with an albatross book

The book "Albatross: their World their Ways", written and illustrated by Tui de Roy, Mark Jones and Julian Fitter and published in 2008, contains a two-page chapter by Conrad, entitled "The Plight of the Albatross on Tristan da Cunha".  Conrad Glass is no stranger to popular writing, having published his book "Rockhopper Copper" in 2005 that details his role as the island's only full-time policeman as well as his long-time contributions to conservation (such as by undertaking regular counts of Tristan's penguins).

Another copy of the same book was presented to Huw Irranca-Davies, who as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is the Minister responsible for conservation and biodiversity in the UK's Overseas Territories.

Both ministers were briefed by Conrad on the subject and took time to discuss his chapter on albatross conservation on Tristan da Cunha with him.

It is believed that the presentation has helped raise awareness of the serious conservation concerns facing ACAP-listed albatrosses and petrels in the Tristan-Gough group of islands.  For more information, visit the ACAP Species Assessments for Tristan, Atlantic Yellow-nosed and Sooty Albatrosses and Spectacled, Grey and Southern Giant Petrels on this web site at http://www.acap.aq/acap-species.

See also:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/foreignoffice/4171877074/

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/news/latest-news/?view=News&id=21377795

http://www.tristandc.com/newschiefislander.php

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, with the help of Clare Stringer, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Chris Bates, UK Represenatative, Tristan da Cunha, 17 & 24 December 2009