Still at risk to mice?  A Critically Endangered Tristan Albatross Diomedea dabbenena pair tends its chick on Gough Island; photograph by Michelle Risi

The UK’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) aims to recruit a Field Team Leader and a Field Officer to carry out bird monitoring and other field work over 15 months on Gough Island, following the unsuccessful House Mouse eradication operation on the island lsast year.  Gough Island in the South Atlantic forms part of the UK Overseas Territory of St Helena, Ascension, Tristan da Cunha and is considered one of the world’s most important seabird breeding sites.

“This position offers a unique opportunity for highly motivated and disciplined individuals with relevant fieldwork skills and a keen interest in wildlife, who can adapt well to small island living in a challenging and remote sub-Antarctic environment.  Work during the seabird breeding season is very intense, with frequent long hours of fieldwork and data entry and management, so it is important to be well organised.  Data are managed using databases and checked by creating and inspecting reports on a monthly basis, observing deadlines at frequent intervals.  The results underpin efforts to restore the Gough and Inaccessible Islands World Heritage Site.”

Interviews for the two positions are planned for early May 2022.  For further information contact the RSPB’s Antje Steinfurth at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

More details can be found in the Field Team Leader and Field Officer adverts.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 29 March 2022

Laysan Albatrosses, coloured pencils, by ABUN artist Tatiana Petrova for World Albatross Day 2022

As previously announced, the Seventh Session of the Meeting of Parties to the Agreement (MoP7) will be held virtually over 9-13 May 2022, with Australia acting as meeting host and Chair.  Further information is now available in a second circular that gives details on timing and dates, technical arrangements, ad hoc meeting guidelines and registering.

MoP7 will begin with a Heads of Delegation meeting.  An Annotated Provisional Agenda is available (MoP7 Doc 02) as are other Meeting Documents and Information Papers that will be considered at the meeting.

As was the case with the 12th Meeting of the Advisory Committee (AC12), Congress Rental has been chosen to manage the technical aspects of the meeting, which will use the Interprefy platform.

Prospective participants should register by 15 April.  A registration form is available from here.

French and Spanish versions of Circular No. 2, meeting documents and the registration form are also available.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 28 March 2022

Three OVAPD workers construct a bird-scaring line as BirdLife South Africa's Reason Nyengera looks on; photograph from the Albatross Task Force

Reason Nyengera, Albatross Task Force Project Manager, BirdLife South Africa reports that over 1000 bird-scaring lines have been supplied by the ATF to vessels that fish within South African waters.

He writes: “Each year thousands of seabirds are accidentally killed while foraging behind fishing vessels in the world’s oceans.  One of the most efficient solutions to reduce seabird bycatch is to use a device known as a bird-scaring line (BSL), or tori line, to deter birds from entering the danger zone behind fishing vessels.  One of the cornerstones of our work is to provide cost-effective, efficient and science-based seabird bycatch mitigation measures to the South African fishing industry, and ensuring that all vessels are equipped with BSLs is an integral part of this mission.  A collaborative BSL-manufacturing project has been initiated between BirdLife South Africa and the Ocean View Association for Persons with Disabilities (OVAPD), a registered non-profit institution that provides people with disabilities from in and around the local community with a place where they can interact, learn skills and make a small income.”

A bird-scaring line flutters above a longline; photograph by Domingo Jimenez

Funding to purchase raw materials for the manufacture of BSLs has been funded by Rand Merchant Bank over the last decade.

“Since the beginning of this collaborative project we have supplied more than 1000 BSLs, effectively equipping 60% of the [South African] vessels that interact with seabirds.  The BSLs in South Africa have directly contributed to a 99% reduction in the deaths of albatrosses in the demersal hake trawl fishery and an 85% reduction in seabird mortality in one of our longline fisheries.  Since its inception, the project has prevented the deaths of approximately 58 000 seabirds in the South African trawl fisheries alone.  And 58 people with disabilities gain technical life skills, socio-economic welfare and upliftment every year through it.”

Read the original news story here and access earlier related posts to ACAP Latest News on the subject.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 25 March 2022

Waved Albatross at sea; photograph by Ken Logan

Carlos Moreno (Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, Peru) and Javier Quiñones have published in the open-access journal Marine Ornithology on albatrosses and petrels associated with an artisanal squid fishery off Peru.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“We report on the occurrence of albatrosses (Diomedeidae) and petrels (Procellariidae) associated with an artisanal small-scale fishery (SSF) for Humboldt Squid Dosidicus gigas in waters of southern Peru during El Niño 2015-2016 and coastal El Niño 2017. We deployed as observers on a number of fishing trips to assess seabird interactions. White-chinned Petrels Procellaria aequinoctialis and Waved Albatross Phoebastria irroata were the most abundant species observed, followed by Salvin's Thalassarche salvini and Chatham albatross T. eremita, and Cape Petrels Daption capense. The majority of procellariid species (> 60% of total birds) visited while vessels were positioned over the continental slope. Salvin's and Chatham albatross, and White-chinned Petrels, were mostly absent during summer (only 5% and 15% of birds present, respectively), but Waved Albatross and Cape Petrels were present year-round. Thus, the prevalence of each of these species was disproportionate relative to expectation based on non-fishery surveys. All assessed species foraged on offal discards associated with the fishery (~17%), with a higher frequency of consumption among Salvin's (27%) and Chatham (21%) albatross; in contrast, Waved Albatross largely fed on pelagic fish at the surface. Bycatch rate was found to be low: one Chatham Albatross was hooked and released in a hand-held squid jig (0.042 By Catch Per Unit Effort [BPUE] per fishing trip, n = 16). Probably due to El Niño conditions, Waved Albatross were more abundant than expected (43.9% of albatross, and 2.8% of total seabirds observed) and were 1 300-1 400 km farther south than their usual southern limits. We report the first sighting of Southern Royal Albatross Diomedea epomophora in Peru. Bycatch in longline fisheries are a conservation concern, but the magnitude and constant growth of SSFs, especially for Humboldt Squid, needs to be further investigated.”

Reference:

Moreno, c. & Quiñones, J. 2022.  Albatross and petrel interactions with an artisanal squid fishery in southern Peru during El Niño, 2015-2017.  Marine Ornithology 50: 49-56.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 23 March 2022