Leigh Wolfaardt’s The Albatrosses of the Prince Edward Islands, painted in gouache and graphite pencil, is now available for purchase as a limited edition giclée print

Leigh Wolfaardt is a South African artist with a strong interest in islands and their conservation.  The wild and spectacular environments of islands and their wealth of animal life continue to be great sources of inspiration for her art.  She is particularly passionate about seabirds, with a particular love for the majestic albatrosses, icons of the open ocean.  Leigh has now made prints of her The Albatrosses of the Prince Edward Islands’ that depicts the islands’ five species available in support of the Saving Marion Island’s Seabirds. The Mouse-Free Marion (MFM) Project.

Leigh writes to the MFM Project:

“I was super delighted with the enthusiastic response that my painting ‘The Albatrosses of the Prince Edward Islands’ generated at the live auction that was held onboard the Flock to Marion AGAIN! 2025 voyage, organised by BirdLife South Africa.  My painting was created specifically to generate funds for the Mouse-Free Marion Project, which is aiming to eradicate invasive mice from Marion Island to protect its globally important and remarkable seabirds.  To raise funds for this vital project, my painting has now found a new home, and I am making available limited edition giclée prints of the original artwork.  50% of all proceeds generated from the sale of the prints will be donated to the project.  If you are interested in purchasing one of these prints and supporting the project to rid the island of the devastating effects of the mice on these beautiful birds, visit my website here.”

Southern Giant Petrels are also at risk to mice on Marion Island, artwork by Leigh Wolfaardt

Leigh Wolfaardt is the partner of Anton Wolfaardt, the Mouse-Free Marion Project Manager.  Together they have lived and conducted conservation research on seabirds on South Africa’s Dassen Island, in the Falkland Islands and on South Georgia (Islas Georgias del Sur)*.  Leigh and Anton now live in a Victorian house150 km from Cape Town in the heritage village of Stanford, set in a tapestry of farmland, fynbos and mountains along the famed Cape Whale Coast of South Africa.

Wandering Albatrosses displaying and nesting on Prion Island in the South Atlantic, linocut by Leigh Wolfaardt

On a personal note, the ACAP Emeritus Information Officer is proud to have print 1/500, signed for him by Leigh and presented by the MFM Project, hanging in pride of place on the ‘albatross wall’ in his Rondebosch home.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels,06 March 2025

*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.

An incubating Sooty Albatross on Gough Island in the South Atlantic Ocean with a bright yellow sulcus, photograph by Michelle Risi

Dilini Abeyrama (University of Lethbridge, Canada) and colleagues have published in the journal Conservation Genetics on differences in two populations of the Endangered Sooty Albatross, suggesting that separate conservation management plans for the two populations be implemented to prevent the loss of evolutionarily significant units.

A brooding Sooty Albatross on Marion Island, southern Indian Ocean with a pale yellow sulcus, photograph by Michelle Risi

The paper’s abstract follows:

“The southern oceans are home to a large variety of organisms, including many endemic species. High levels of endemism are due in part to non-physical barriers limiting gene flow in marine species. The sooty albatross Phoebetria fusca is an endangered seabird breeding on seven island groups in Atlantic and Indian Oceans. We sequenced the mitochondrial control region (55 birds) and genotyped 10 microsatellite markers (88 birds) to examine the population genetics of sooty albatrosses from Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island (Atlantic Ocean), and Marion Island, Île de la Possession (Crozet) and Amsterdam Island (Indian Ocean), which together support > 99% of the global population. We also analysed the bill sulcus colouration and quantified stable isotope composition of body feathers of breeding adults from Gough and Marion Islands. Both genetic markers identified two clusters separating sooty albatrosses breeding in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean basins. Standardized colour analysis also separated populations in the two ocean basins and revealed the sulcus of sooty albatrosses on Gough Island is significantly more yellow than individuals on Marion Island. Stable isotope analysis of body feathers showed significantly higher δ¹³C values from Marion sooty albatrosses compared to Gough conspecifics, indicating different moulting areas. Sooty albatrosses breeding on islands in the two ocean basins differ from each other in their genetics, morphology and ecological preferences. Accordingly, it is recommended that separate conservation management plans be implemented for sooty albatrosses breeding in each ocean basin to prevent the loss of evolutionarily significant units.”

Reference:

Abeyrama, D.K., Risi, M.M., Connan, M., Ryan, P.G., Jones, C.W., Glass, T., Osborne, A.M., Steinfurth, A., Schofield, A., Pistorius, P., Keys, D. & Cherel, Y. & Burg, T.M. 2025.  Cryptic variation in the sooty albatross Phoebetria fusca: genetic and morphological differences between Atlantic and Indian Ocean birds.  Conservation Genetics 26. 117-128.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 05 March 2025

This wounded Wandering Albatross chick did not survive nocturnal attacks by introduced House Mice on Marion Island, photograph by Michelle Risi, June 2023

The Mouse-Free Marion Project is a registered non-profit company in South Africa, established to eradicate the invasive albatross- and petrel-killing House Mice on sub-Antarctic Marion Island in the southern Indian Ocean.  The project was initiated by BirdLife South Africa and the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.  Upon successful completion, the project will restore the critical breeding habitat of over two million seabirds, many globally threatened, and improve the island’s resilience to a warming climate.  An important part of the current planning stage is to raise the necessary funds for what will be a massive operation on a 30 000-hectare island.

Round the peninsula: the route for the Cape Town Cycle Tour

On Sunday 9 March, 31 members of the Mouse-Free Marion Cycling Team will set off  in their Mouse-Free Marion (MFM) Project cycling jerseys to ride 109 km around the iconic Cape Peninsula.  It will be the 47th running of the Cape Town Cycle Tour, the world’s largest timed cycling event.  Three members of the MFM Project Team will e cycling with the others on Sunday, with no less than 36 previous Cape Town Cycle Tours completed between them.  It is planned to separate at the start into ‘fast’ and ‘slow’ groups to ensure everyone can expect an enjoyable ride within their capabilities.  Members of the team come roughly equally from the South African Provinces of Gauteng and the Western Cape and have been training for the event with social rides and races over the last several months. Not all have yet met each other, so the ride will also be a social event with a planned gathering afterwards.

Last group training ride in the Western Cape before the big event.  Mouse-Free Marion Cycling Team members John Cooper, Erica Leppan, Katta Ludynia and Jeremy George on the decent from Chapman’s Peak into Hout Bay on the Cape Town Cycle Tour route

Wearing MFM ‘colours’, the team’s aim will be to raise awareness for the MFM Project along the always well-spectated route, with occasional stops at scenic points for group photographs.  Equally important, the team members will attempt to raise a total of R109 000 (R1000 for every kilometre cycled), equivalent to sponsoring 109 hectares, in support of the project.  To this end team members are approaching their friends, colleagues and relatives to sponsor them an amount for each kilometre they ride.  Readers can also sponsor with any multiple of R109 or a lump sum via the team’s GivenGain appeal.  Marion Island’s beleaguered albatrosses will thank you!

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 04 March 2025

An Argentinian side trawler pulls its net, photograph by Leo Tamini

Agustina Iwan (Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras, Mar del Plata, Argentina) and colleagues have published in the journal Society & Natural Resources on using interviews to identify barriers for the take up of mitigation measures in Argentina’s offshore demersal trawl fleet.  The senior author took up an ACAP Secondment in 2023 that allowed her to travel and conduct research in Queensland and Tasmania, Australia towards this publication for five months in 2023.

Illustration from the publication

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Reducing fisheries bycatch is a global challenge, with social factors playing a significant role in the adoption of mitigation measures (MMs). This study investigates these factors within Argentina’s offshore commercial bottom trawl fleet, where research remains limited. Through a qualitative approach, 29 interviews with key stakeholders were conducted to explore perceptions of bycatch and MMs.  Analysis revealed four main barriers to MMs uptake: perceptions of cumbersomeness, ineffectiveness, lack of an adequate control system, and Argentine cultural influences. Participants emphasized the need for improved governance strategies, collaboration among stakeholders, and tailored educational programs to enhance MMs uptake.  Additionally, effective communication, trust-building, and incentives emerged as essential elements for fostering the use of MMs.”

With thanks to Agustina Iwan.

Reference:

Iwan, A., Favero, M., Van Putten, I.E., Arqueros Mejica, M.S., Bergseth, B.J., Lau, J.D.  & Copello, S. 2025: Reducing bycatch in offshore commercial fisheries: stakeholder perspectives on mitigation measures.  Society & Natural Resources.1080/08941920.2025.2463060.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 03 March 2025