Control and experimental hooks, the weighted hook is on the left; from the publication.

Eric Gilman (The Safina Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA) and colleagues have published open access in the journal Scientific Reports on researching weighting longliner hooks tor reduce seabird bycatch.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Fisheries bycatch threatens the viability of some seabird populations and reduces fishing efficiency. Albatross bycatch in a US North Pacific tuna longline fishery has increased over the past decade and now exceeds 1000 annual captures. Seabirds interacting with this fishery reach hooks at depths up to 1 m. A branchline weight’s mass and distance from the hook affect seabird catch rates. We conducted experimental fishing to compare the commercial viability of a weighted hook relative to conventional gear with weights attached 0.75 m from the hook. We used a Bayesian random effects meta-analytic regression modelling approach to estimate pooled expected species-specific log relative risk of capture on conventional versus experimental gear. There was a significant 53% (95% HDI: − 75 to − 25%) decrease in retained species’ catch rates on experimental hooks, indicating an unacceptable economic cost, and no significant effect for discarded species. Using a Bayesian general linear mixed regression modelling approach, experimental hooks sank to 85 cm ca. 1.4 times (95% HDI: 1.37–1.48) faster than control hooks. Given their potential to reduce seabird catch rates, eliminate safety risks from bite-offs and facilitate robust compliance monitoring, it is a priority to find a weighted hook design with acceptable catch rates.”

Reference:

Gilman, E., Musyl, M., Wild, M., Rong, H. & Chaloupka, M. 2022.  Investigating weighted fishing hooks for seabird bycatch mitigation.  Scientific Reports doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-06875-4.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 27 April 2022

John Nicolosi, Niko Records Studio (front) and Christoph Hrdina, ABUN Co-founder, record the music for the ABUN video for World Albatross Day 2022

In 2020 and again last year ACAP collaborated with Artists and Biologists Unite for Nature (ABUN) to create portfolios of artworks for each of the 31 ACAP-listed albatrosses and petrels, all available for ACAP to use in the cause of conservation.  In 2020 77 ABUN artists produced no less than 324 artworks featuring the world’s 22 albatross species to promote the inaugural World Albatross Day on 19 June.  In 2021 as part of a project entitled “Petrels in Peril” a further 106 works were created by 50 artists to illustrate the nine ACAP-listed petrels and shearwaters.  ABUN co-founder Kitty Harvill worked with John Nicolosi of Niko Records Studio in Tennessee, USA in both 2020 and 2021 to produce  music videos that featured the artworks produced, along with the photographs that inspired them.  Additionally, in 2021 a third music video entitled "The Seabird Wanderers of ACAP" was produced by Kitty and John that featured photographs of all the 31 ACAP-listed species of albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters.

The music video for ABUN Project #39 "Climate Change"

For the third year ACAP and ABUN have collaborated to produce more artworks for World Albatross Day and its chosen theme for 2022 of Climate Change.  ABUN’s three-month long Project - #39 has resulted in 76 artworks by 38 artists, depicting Black-footed Phoebastria nigripes and the Laysan P. immutabilis Albatrosses.  These two Northern Pacific species are at particular risk to sea level rise and storms.  Once more, Kitty Harvill and John Nicolosi have worked together on a music video, their fourth together for ACAP.  John has called the music he wrote, arranged and recorded “Life for the Albatross”.

ACAP Latest News took the latest music video to Cape Town’s Protea Heights Academy on Friday last week and gave it a preview in front of 127 Grade 10,11 and 12 learners from four schools as part of the academy's Oceans Awareness Celebration marking Earth Day. The video was well received by the audience.  Kitty Harvill has written to ACAP Latest News “I have to say, it's one of my favourites.  The music is so inspiring ... and the artwork is excellent and full of heart”.  ACAP agrees!

Protea Heights Academy learners watch a preview of the music video on Earth Day

View a poster created by ABUN for this year’s World Albatross Day, depicting the 76 artworks.  All these artworks may be viewed in an album on ACAP’s Facebook page.  Eight of them have been selected to create high-resolution ‘WAD2022” posters, which it is expected will be available for free downloading next month.

With thanks to Kitty Harvill, John Nicolosi, Mariette Wheeler of Protea Heights Academy, and all the contributing artists and photographers.

John Cooper, ACAP information Officer, 26 April 2022

A translocated Black-footed Albatross close to fledging gets airborne on Isla Guadalupe in 2021, blue pen drawing by ABUN artist.Snah; after a  photograph (see below) by J.A. Soriano, GECI

Thirty-five Black-footed Albatross Phoebastria nigripes chicks have successfully hatched in their foster nests on Isla Guadalupe in Mexico.   Moved as eggs from Sand Island, Midway Atoll in the North-western Hawaiian Islands, 36 eggs arrived on Guadalupe on 12 January this year to be raised by Laysan Albatrosses P. immutabilis, a species which has bred on the island since the early 1980s.  This effort follows on from a previous translocation from which 27 translocated chicks fledged last year from Isla Guadalupe, including ‘Snowflake’, the first to depart.

Transfer route, courtesy of GECI

With 97% of globally Near Threatened Black-footed Albatrosses breeding on low-lying atolls in the USA’s North-western Hawaiian Islands where they are at risk to climate change, the translocation project aims to establish a new colony on the high island of Guadalupe (a Biosphere Reserve) to help ensure the long-term survival of their species.  Two NGOs, Hawaii’s Pacific Rim Conservation (PRC) and Mexico’s Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas (GECI), have coordinated efforts with the federal governments of both countries to effect the translocations.

“When the eggs hatched, the chicks recognized Guadalupe Island as their home; after orienting themselves with the stars, they will return to the island as non-breeding adults in a period of three to five years.  Later, in five to eight years, they will return to the island to find a mate and reproduce.”

Find more about the project in Spanish here.  Read a news article on the transfer flight and watch a video (with Spanish text) on the translocation.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 25 April 2022

The Albatross and Petrel Agreement has chosen the theme “Climate Change” to mark the third World Albatross Day, to be celebrated on 19 June 2022.  This follows the inaugural theme “Eradicating Island Pests” in 2020 and “Ensuring Albatross-friendly Fisheries” last year.  The featured species chosen for 2022 are two of the three species of albatrosses that breed in the North Pacific: the Black-footed Phoebastria nigripes and the Laysan P. immutabilis.  These two Near Threatened albatrosses have most of their breeding populations on the low-lying atolls of the USA’s North-Western Hawaiian Islands, where they are at risk from sea level rise and increases in the number and severity of storms that together result in the loss of breeding habitat and flooding of nests leading to loss of eggs and chicks, both considered a consequence of climate change.

Kitty Harviill signs her artwork for ABUN Project #39 in her studio

 For the third year running the Albatross and Petrel Agreement has collaborated with Artists and Biologists Unite for Nature (ABUN) to produce artworks to help raise awareness of World Albatross Day in the cause of the conservation of ACAP-listed albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters (click here).  ABUN’s 39th Project produced artworks depicting these two Northern Pacific albatrosses over the extended period of January to March (click here).  No less than 38 ABUN artists participated, using photographs supplied to ACAP as inspiration.  All these artworks are available for viewing in a photo album on ACAP’s Facebook page.  Already some of them have been used to illustrate posts to ACAP Latest News, including two that feature participating artists, Flávia Barreto from Brazil and Grisselle Chock in the USA.
The Agreement now takes pleasure, fittingly on Earth Day, in releasing a collage poster depicting 76 #39 artworks put together by ABUN co-founder, Kitty Harvill. Soon to follow will be the Project #39 music video, produced as in 2020 and 2021 by Kitty and musician John Nicolosi.  Next month ACAP will release eight posters chosen from #39 artworks and designed by Michelle Risi to add to the 12 WAD2022 photo posters she produced that are already available on this website and via Facebook

With grateful thanks to Kitty Harvill, the contributing ABUN artists and the photographers whose pictures offered inspiration.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 22 April 2022