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title: "Should Australia’s Shy Albatross be uplisted from Near Threatened to Vulnerable?"
---

# Should Australia’s Shy Albatross be uplisted from Near Threatened to Vulnerable?

BirdLife International’s [Globally threatened Seabird Forum](http://www.birdlife.org/globally-threatened-bird-forums/category/species-group/threatened-seabirds/) has been considering the case of the Shy Albatross *Thalassarche cauta*, endemic to Australia and currently listed as globally [Near Threatened](http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/22729604).  Its on-line report can be read [here](http://www.birdlife.org/globally-threatened-bird-forums/2016/11/shy-albatross-thalassarche-cauta-uplist-from-near-threatened-to-vulnerable/) along with expert comment on the proposal to uplist it to Vulnerable.

 The report concludes “Given the threats affecting the species, the ongoing declines in the 30% of the population during the last 10 years, and the projected future declines, this species appears to qualify for uplisting to Vulnerable under criterion A2bde+3bde+4bde.”

 However, following the expert commentary it received BirdLife has decided to postpone a decision on this species and keep the discussion open until 2017, while leaving the current Red List category unchanged at Near Threatened in the 2016 update.

  ![Shy Albatross on Albatross Island by Drew Lee](https://acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/S/Shy_Albatross_on_Albatross_Island_by_Drew_Lee.jpg)

 Shy Albatross on Albatross Island, photograph by Drew Lee

 **Selected Literature:**

 Abbott, C.L., Double, M.C., Baker, G.B., Gales, R., Lashko, A., Robertson, C.J.R., & Ryan, P.G. 2006.  Molecular provenance analysis for shy and white-capped albatrosses killed by fisheries interactions in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.  *Conservation Genetics* 7: 531-542.

 Alderman, R., Gales, R., Hobday, A.J. & Candy, S.G. 2010.  Post-fledging survival and dispersal of shy albatross from three breeding colonies in Tasmania.  *Marine Ecology Progress Series* 405:271-285.

 Alderman, R.; Gales, R.; Tuck, G. N. & Lebreton, J. D. 2011.  Global population status of shy albatross and an assessment of colony-specific trends and drivers.  *Wildlife Research* 38: 672-686.

 Baker, G.B., Double, M.C., Gales, R., Tuck, G.N., Abbott, C.L., Ryan, P.G., Petersen, S.L., Robertson, C.J.R., and Alderman, R. 2007.  A global assessment of the impact of fisheries-related mortality on shy and white-capped albatrosses: conservation implications.  *Biological Conservation* 137: 319-333.

 Thomson, R.B., Alderman, R.L., Tuck, G.N., Hobday, A.J. 2015.  Effects of climate change and fisheries bycatch on Shy Albatross (*Thalassarche cauta*) in southern Australia.  *PLoS ONE* 10(6): e0127006. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0127006.

 *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 02 December 2016*