Archived News

Writing in the second number  of ISI News Allan Saunders and colleagues of New Zealand's Invasive Species International consider how best to forward the removal of alien mammals from oceanic islands. 

They conclude that the use of a dedicated "mother ship" working within archipelagos or regional groups of islands, coupled with a system to keep trained eradication teams involved from project to project, would lead both to significant economies in scale and improved support for countries and regions with low capacities to fund, plan and carry out their own island eradication programmes.

 Earlier this year I showed Allan South Africa's Antarctic supply ship, the M.V.  S.A. Agulhas, docked in Cape Town harbour.  This ship is to be replaced in 2012.  Its ability to carry two large helicopters, ample on-board accommodation, 90-day and 12 000-nautical mile at-sea capacity, small boats and large holds suggest it could be the type of vessel to fit the ISI vision.  For example, eradication of introduced House Mice Mus musculus from Gough Island in the South Atlantic (click here) is going to require a vessel of this type (which visits Gough annually to relieve the South African weather station). Click here  to read the gough mice feasibility study, produced by another ISI New Zealander, John Parkes.

To read of current activities to eradicate invasive mammals from two other islands supporting ACAP-breeding species in the Southern Ocean click here.

Click here to access ACAP's Guidelines for eradication of introduced mammals from breeding sites of ACAP-listed seabirds.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 6 July 2010