Attendees at the Common Oceans ABNJ Program meetings in Rome, January 2020; ACAP's Executive Secretary, Christine Bogle is sixth from the right in the front row

A meeting of the Global Steering Committee of the Common Oceans ABNJ Program, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) was held in Rome, Italy over 29-30 January this year.  It was preceded over 27-28 January by the seventh meeting of the Project Steering Committee for the ABNJ Tuna project which is a key part of the overall ABNJ programme .  The meetings were held to mark completion of Phase 1 of the programme and to finalise proposals to be put forward to the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for a second phase. The GEF had provided funding for Phase 1 of the programme and it is hoped that they will also provide funding assistance to Phase 2.  Co-financing came from a range of entities, some of it in kind.

The Common Oceans ABNJ Program aims to achieve efficient and sustainable management of fisheries resources and biodiversity conservation in marine areas that do not fall under the responsibility of any one country.  It is focused on those areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) - also known as international waters or the High Seas - that cover 40% of the earth’s surface and comprise nearly 95% of the oceans' volume. Phase 1 of the programme comprised several projects, the two main ones being the Tuna project and the Deep Sea project.  ACAP has been a participant in the ABNJ Tuna project since its inception almost six years ago. The Tuna project  had the aim of continuing to strengthen governance in international waters; reinforcing measures to combat Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishing; making further progress in protecting international waters' biodiversity by rendering fishing in these waters less harmful to several marine species, including sea turtles, tuna and seabirds; and improving coordination among those with an interest in the sustainable use of international waters.

The Agreement was represented at the Rome meetings by its Executive Secretary, Christine Bogle.  She writes: “ACAP is pleased to have participated in the first phase of the FAO/GEF Common Oceans ABNJ Tuna project, which concluded at the end of 2019.  We contributed ACAP expertise to the first global assessment of seabird bycatch in pelagic longline fishing in the Southern Hemisphere.  In this assessment, a wide range of modelling approaches was used, producing very similar estimates of approximately 30 000 - 40 000 birds killed a year, highlighting the continued threat faced by ACAP-listed species.”

Through the Common Oceans Tuna project, ACAP in the second half of 2019 received support from the FAO for the updating, translation and printing of several of its mitigation fact sheets and best-practice guidelines.  In addition, an update of the Seabird Identification Guide (currently available in six languages) will be completed soon and made available.  In the preparation of these and other products, ACAP cooperates closely with BirdLife International.”

Read FAO posts on the programme and the meeting.

Earlier postings to ACAP Latest News on the Common Oceans Program can be accessed here.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 13 February 2020

Grey-headed Albatross and chick on Bird Island, painting (acrylic on canvas, 16” x 20”) by Grisselle Chock, from a photograph by Stephanie Prince

William Mills (British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK) and colleagues have published in the journal Marine Biology on diets of two mollymawk albatrosses breeding on Bird Island in the South Atlantic.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Diet analyses can reveal important changes in seabird foraging ecology and, by inference, resource availability and predator–prey dynamics within the wider marine ecosystem.  Here, we analysed stomach contents of 1544 grey-headed albatross Thalassarche chrysostoma (GHA) and black-browed albatross T. melanophris (BBA) chicks from Bird Island, South Georgia.  We describe dietary shifts (1996–2017), and link those to annual prey availability indices and breeding success.  Annual variability in diet was high, and long-term trends in the main components were broadly similar in both albatrosses.  Fish consumption (by mass) generally increased over time.  Mackerel icefish Champsocephalus gunnari occurrence increased in GHA diets, but was unrelated to local densities derived from fisheries/research cruises.  Cephalopod consumption declined until the early 2000s, then plateaued, and the occurrence of the ommastrephid squid Martialia hyadesi declined over time in both albatrosses.  In BBAs, Antarctic krill Euphausia superba consumption decreased over time. Conversely, Antarctic krill consumption by GHAs increased until the early 2000s, decreased until the mid-2010s, and increased again in 2017.  Antarctic krill consumption was unrelated to local densities based on acoustic surveys, and did not correlate with breeding success.  Remotely sensed chlorophyll-a within core foraging areas showed a positive relationship with Antarctic krill in GHA diets, but a negative relationship with M. hyadesi occurrence in both albatross diets.  Dietary shifts had consequences for GHA breeding success, which was negatively related to the importance of the cranchiid Galiteuthis glacialis and positively related to M. hyadesi importance.  These results highlight the complex mechanisms linking prey availability, diet and breeding success in albatrosses.”

With thanks to Griselle Chock, Kitty Harvill, Richard Phillips and Stephanie Prince.

Reference:

Mills, F., Xavier, J.C., Bearhop, S., Cherel, Y., Votier, S.C., Waluda, C.M. & Phillips, R.A. 2020.  Long‑term trends in albatross diets in relation to prey availability and breeding success.  Marine Biology doi.org/10.1007/s00227-019-3630-1.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 12 February 2020

Patricia Zurita, Chief Executive, BirdLife International

BirdLife International is a global partnership of 121 conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources.  As the world’s largest nature conservation partnership, BirdLife has more than 10 million members and supporters, with a global staff of nearly 8000, supported by 5000 volunteers.

 In response to an approach by ACAP Latest News BirdLife’s Chief Executive, Patricia Zurita has replied, offering the support of the partnership for this year’s inauguration of a World Albatross Day.  She writes to ACAP Latest News, fittingly on the United Nations’ International Day of Women and Girls in Science: “Besides being a stark reminder of the beauty of the natural world, albatrosses act as indicators of ocean health.  Only by united action will we accomplish the change needed to secure a future for these birds and the habitats they depend on.  As a global partnership of conservation organisations, BirdLife International therefore fully supports the inauguration of World Albatross Day”.

Cleo Small

Cleo Small, Head of the BirdLife International Marine Programme (and who is a member of ACAP’s Seabird Bycatch Working Group) has also written in support: “Albatrosses face multiple threats both on land and out at sea.  World Albatross Day represents an excellent opportunity to draw attention to the issues we must address to protect these extraordinary birds, as well as the opportunities and challenges associated with each of these threats”.

Maria Dias on Bugio Island, Ilhas Desertas, Portugal

Maria Dias, Marine Science Coordinator at BirdLife International adds: “Albatrosses are one of the most threatened groups of animals.  Two thirds of the species suffer from predation by invasive alien species at their colonies, and almost all species are affected by fisheries bycatch while at sea.  World Albatross Day provides an excellent opportunity to raise awareness on the conservation problems faced by these fascinating birds”.

Six national BirdLife partners, all in countries which are Parties to the Albatross and Petrel Agreement, have already offered their support for ‘WAD2020’.  They are Australia, France, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain and the United Kingdom.  ACAP will keep close contact with the BirdLife partnership over marking the very first World Albatross Day come 19 June.

With thanks to Nina da Rocha, Project Officer, Albatross Task Force, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 11 February 2020

A Laysan Albatross feeds its chick on Mexico's Guadalupe Island, photograph by J.A. Soriano, GECI

The Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas, A.C. (GECI) is a Mexican environmental civil society organization whose mission is the comprehensive restoration of the islands of Mexico and the conservation of their species.  Since its founding in 1998, in strong partnership with the Mexican Government, in particular with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), the National Commission for Natural Protected Areas (CONANP), the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO), and the Secretariat of the Navy (SEMAR), GECI has worked towards reducing threats facing the country’s islands by eradicating introduced species on them.  A few of Mexico’s offshore and remote islands, Guadalupe, Alijos, Clarión and San Benedicto - all Protected Areas under management by CONANP - support mainly small breeding populations of Near Threatened Laysan Albatrosses Phoebastria immutabilis – the most easterly of the species’ wide distribution in the North Pacific.

ACAP Latest News got in touch recently with GECI’s Executive Director, Federico Méndez-Sánchez, who quickly replied, expressing enthusiastic support for the inaugural World Albatross Day on 19 June this year.  At ALN’s request Federico and two of his senior colleagues have written, fittingly in both English and Spanish, describing some of their conservation work on their albatross islands.

Federico explains: “For over 20 years, Mexico has undertaken significant actions to protect and conserve the Laysan Albatross. Keeping its breeding colonies in Mexico free from island pests has been one of the most relevant conservation actions. Particularly, great efforts have been made on Guadalupe Island to eliminate predation by feral cats on Laysan Albatrosses. In 2003, we started cat control around breeding colonies; in 2014 we installed a cat-exclusion fence in the southern part of the island, thus liberating 62 hectares from the threat.  Finally, in 2017 we began with an island-wide cat eradication campaign, aiming to have a cat-free Guadalupe Island by 2021. Thanks to these conservation actions, the Laysan Albatross population on Guadalupe Island is growing and considating as the most important breeding colony for the species in the eastern Pacific.”

“Por más de 20 años, México ha realizado importantes acciones para proteger y conservar al albatros de Laysan, siendo una acción muy relevante el mantener libres de especies exóticas invasoras las colonias reproductivas de esta especie. En particular, en Isla Guadalupe se han realizado grandes esfuerzos para eliminar la depredación del gato feral sobre el albatros: en el año 2003 se inició el control poblacional de gato feral alrededor de las colonias reproductivas de albatros; en el 2014 se instaló un cerco de exclusión de gatos en la parte sur de la isla, generando 62 hectáreas libres de esta amenaza; en 2017 inició la erradicación de gatos en toda la isla, misma que culminará en 2021. Gracias a estas acciones de conservación, la población de albatros de Laysan en Isla Guadalupe está creciendo y consolidándose como la colonia reproductiva más importante de pacífico oriental”.

Federico’s colleague, Yuliana Bedolla-Guzmán, is the group’s Marine Birds Project Director. She writes: “Guadalupe Island has become the main breeding site for the Laysan Albatross in the eastern Pacific. Its population has steadily increased since its first record in 1983. Nowadays, there are over 1400 breeding pairs nesting on Guadalupe and two of its islets: Morro Prieto and Zapato. Here, its breeding success is one of the highest recorded globally for the species (74-83%). Guadalupe Island has its own peculiarities as a breeding site: its height and temperate climate; its proximity to nutrient-rich productive zones, such as the California Current where the albatrosses feed during the breeding season; and less plastic pollution. These characteristics make Guadalupe Island an ideal home for the Laysan Albatross to support the conservation of the species at a global scale”.

“Isla Guadalupe se ha convertido en el principal sitio de anidación del albatros de Laysan en el pacífico oriental. Su población ha estado en constante crecimiento desde su primer registro en 1983. Actualmente, la población es de más de 1,400 parejas reproductivas entre Isla Guadalupe y sus islotes Morro Prieto y Zapato. Aquí, su éxito reproductivo es de los más altos registrados para esta especie a nivel mundial (74-83%). Isla Guadalupe presenta particularidades únicas como colonia de anidación: su imponente altura y clima templado; la cercanía a zonas de alta productividad oceánica como la corriente de california, en donde se alimentan en temporada reproductiva; y menor contaminación de plásticos en el mar. Todas estas características hacen que Isla Guadalupe sea el hogar ideal de los albatros y una alternativa para la conservación de esta especie a nivel mundial”.

Julio Hernández-Montoya, GECI’s Guadalupe Island Project Director, has his say: “Congratulations to albatrosses on their day!  It is a special day for everyone who has ever had the opportunity to interact with these marvellous birds.  For the last 13 years, I have had the pleasure to admire their extraordinary fortitude, dedication to their nest, commitment to their partner, tender care for their chicks, spirit of freedom and courage during their feeding trips, great lessons of survival to allow chicks to fledge from their nests, and an astonishing love for their birthplace.  These traits never cease to amaze me and have shaped the way I see the world.  It is a commitment for me and my colleagues in Mexico to continue working to conserve these majestic birds so that they continue to fill the skies of the world with inspiration, wonder and beauty”.

“¡Muchas felicidades a los albatros en su día! Es un día especial para todas las personas que hemos tenido la oportunidad de conocer e interactuar con estas maravillosas aves. Durante estos últimos 13 años, he tenido la dicha de admirar su inagotable nobleza, extraordinaria fortaleza, dedicación al nido, compromiso con su pareja, tiernos y sutiles cuidados a las crías, incansable espíritu de libertad, valentía y arrojo en sus viajes de alimentación, grandes lecciones de sobrevivencia para que los pollos abandonen el nido, y un asombroso apego al lugar donde nacen. Todas estas características no dejan de asombrarme año tras año y han formado parte de mi manera de ver el mundo. Es un compromiso para mí y mis colegas en México, el continuar conservando estas majestuosas aves para que sigan llenando de inspiración, asombro y belleza los cielos del mundo.”

Federico holds a Townsend's Shearwater Puffinus auricularis on Socorro Island, Yuliana is holding a Black-vented Shearwater P. opisthomelas on San Benito Oeste Island, and Julio is recording calls from an inquisitive Laysan Alabatross on Zapato Islet, next to Guadalupe Island.

Although Mexico is a breeding range state for an ACAP-listed species, it is not a Party to the Agreement.  However, delegates from Mexico have attended and contributed to past ACAP meetings as observers and contacts are maintained between the ACAP Secretariat and Mexican officials.

With thanks to Federico Méndez-Sánchez, GECI Executive Director.  All photographs by J.A. Soriano, GECI

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 10 February 2020