A Black-footed Albatross pair on Kure Atoll, November 2025

The annual albatross nest count on Kure Atoll (Hōlanikū) in the Northwestern Pacific Islands for the 2025/26 breeding season has been completed, yielding a total of over 41 thousand occupied nests.  Species totals were 38 153 nests for the Laysan Albatross Phoebastria immutabilis and 3042 for the Black-footed Albatross P. nigripes.

A Laysan Albatross pair on Kure Atoll, November 2025

“Each nest represents new life and continued hope for these iconic seabirds!  Mahalo to everyone who helps protect Hōlanikū and the wildlife that call it home.”

Two Short-tailed Albatrosses seen on Kure Atoll, November-December 2025

At least three Short-tailed Albatrosses P. albatrus were spotted on Kure Atoll during November 2025.  All the posted photographs are of birds in non-adult plumage, although birds in adult plumage have been previously seen on the atoll.  From at least 2010 to 2018 a female-female pair (both banded as chicks on Torishima and of known age) laid infertile eggs on Kure Atoll.  Short-tailed Albatross decoys have been deployed on Kure in the hope of encouraging breeding.

Metal-banded hybrid Black-footed-Laysan Albatross, Kure Atoll, December 2025

Information and photographs from weekly reports from the field team on the Facebook page of the Kure Atoll Conservancy.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 31 December 2025

 Antipodean Albatross off North Cape, New Zealand, photograph by Kirk Zufelt

Ho Fung Wong (Ocean Futures Research Cluster, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia) and colleagues have published open access in the journal Biological Conservation on interactions between Endangered Antipodean Albatrosses Diomedea antipodensis satellite tracked from Antipodes Island and fishing vessels in the South Pacific Ocean.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Fisheries bycatch poses a major threat to marine predators and remains a global challenge to sustainable fisheries.  Conservation and management strategies can be informed by identifying zones of overlap between fishing effort and threatened, endangered or protected species, or existing bycatch hotspots.  However, few studies have incorporated ocean data and the age and sex classes of seabirds into these assessments.  Here, we examined the environmental conditions that drive fisheries interaction risk for the endangered Antipodean albatross (Diomedea antipodensis antipodensis).  Specifically, we assessed interaction risk by combining satellite-tracking data from 192 individuals across age and sex classes of all life stages with data from the Automatic Identification System (AIS) vessel-tracking program.  The integration of satellite-tracking and oceanographic data facilitated assessment of how physical ocean features — such as recurring thermal fronts, turbulent ocean mixing, and swirling eddies — shaped high-risk interaction zones.  Hotspots of interaction risk spanned from 25°S to 40°S and varied seasonally.  Overall, interaction risk was significantly higher during May–August and among juveniles.  Over broad climatological scales, the interaction risk was greatest where thermal fronts occur frequently.  At finer scales, interaction risk was intensified in association with aggregative Lagrangian Coherent Structures.  These findings suggest that Regional Fisheries Management Organisations could take immediate action, such as extending current bycatch mitigation measures to include fishing grounds between 25 and 30°S, to cover the hotspots for juvenile and female seasonally.  Incorporating measures of mesoscale ocean dynamics in delineating zones of interaction risk for species of conservation concern provides a potential step forward for dynamic threat management.”

Reference:

Fung Wong, H., Schoeman, D., Miller, P.I., Bentley, L., Halpin, L., Fischer, J.H., Debski, I., Bose, S., Elliott, G., Walker, K. & Scales, K.L. 2026.  Mesoscale ocean dynamics structure fisheries interaction risk for an endangered seabird.  Biological Conservation 313.  111574.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 30 December 2025

The journal Fisheries Research is calling for papers on bycatch in the world’s tuna fisheries, following a workshop that brought together the five tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organizations and other bycatch experts in January 2025.

“The worlds tuna fisheries total landings are estimated to be 5.2 million metric tons and worth about $40.8 billion US dollars (in 2018).  Tuna fisheries also generate a substantial amount of bycatch including cetaceans, sharks and rays, sea turtles, as well as sea birds.  As part of the Food and Agricultural Organization’s Common Oceans Project, Scientists and Managers from all five tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organizations, and other bycatch experts met in Rome, January 27-29, 2025 for a workshop on bycatch in the world’s tuna fisheries.”

The goal of the planned Special Issue is to bring together key papers presented at the Common Oceans Tuna Project Workshop on bycatch in tuna fisheries as well as any papers not presented at the workshop but that related to the focus topics for the special issue.  Contributions will include all aspects of bycatch in global tuna fisheries, including but not limited to the following topics.

1. Data collection and quality

• Challenges in data availability and quality.
• Advances in data collection methods (e.g., electronic monitoring systems).
• Comparing data sources (e.g., fishery observers, logbooks, EMS) and types (e.g., fisheries-dependent and fisheries-independent data)
• Sampling designs

2. Methodologies and analytical approaches

• Approaches and methodologies to model bycatch data.
• Designing of experimental studies on bycatch and mitigation measures
• Estimates of mortality and population-level effects.

3. Mitigation measures

• Approaches and efficiency of mitigation measures, including fishing gear changes
• Other approaches such as bycatch handling practices, trade bans, etc.
• Efficacy of time-area closures, MPAs, and dynamic spatiotemporal management.

4. Management aspects

• Management of bycatch at tuna-RFMOs level
• Management from other organizations (e.g., CITES, CMS, etc.)
• Multispecies trade-offs related with management measures

5. Socio-economic aspects

• Socioeconomic and economic issues related to bycatch mitigation measures.
• Role of fisher engagement in implementing mitigation measures

6. Future directions and research needs

• Novel methods for data collection and analysis on bycatch species
• Defining biological reference points for data-limited bycatch species
• Multi-species models and assessments for bycatch species

“All manuscripts will be peer-reviewed.  Submissions will be evaluated based on originality, significance, technical quality, and clarity.  “Once accepted, articles will be posted online immediately and published in a journal regular issue within weeks.   will also be simultaneously collected in the online special issue.

The deadline for submissions is 31 March 2026.  Read more abiut the planned Special Issue and the submission process here.

With thanks to Richard Phillips.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 29 December 2025

Fall out of 636 Wedge-tailed Shearwaters on the Hawaiian island of Oahu in 2024, from the report

A 174-page report from the state of Hawaii’s Dark Night Skies Protection Advisory Committee released this month proposes to regulate artificial light use in the state’s inhabited islands, inter alia to reduce harmful effects on breeding seabirds. The report lists eight species, all burrowing procellariiforms, that breed on Hawaiian Islands and are considered highly vulnerable to light pollution.  They are:

Newell’s Shearwater Puffinus newelli (Critically Endangered)
Hawaiian Petrel Pterodroma sandwichensis (Endangered)
Bonin Petrel Pterodroma hypoleuca (Least Concern)
Bulwer’s Petrel Bulweria bulweri (Least Concern)
Wedge-tailed Shearwater Ardenna pacifica (Least Concern)
Christmas Shearwater Puffinus nativitatis (Least Concern)
Band-rumped Storm Petrel Oceanodroma [Hydrobates] castro (Least Concern)
Tristram’s Storm Petrel Oceanodroma [Hydrobates] tristrami (Least Concern)

A downed Newell’s Shearwater gets released on the Hawaiian Island of Kauai in 2017, photograph by Hob Osterlund

The report states: “These seabirds use natural light from the moon and stars to navigate to sea to foraging grounds hundreds to thousands of miles away where they feed and spend the majority of their lives, and then to return to their natal colonies to breed.  Artificial lighting disorients them, causing them to circle lights or collide with structures.  Seabirds are drawn to artificial lighting at night, often resulting in “fallout” events where disoriented birds land in unsafe urban environments.  Exhausted or injured grounded birds are vulnerable to predation especially by cats and mongooses, starvation, and fatal collisions with vehicles.  Young seabirds, particularly during their first journey to sea at fledging, are especially at risk of disorientation, but adult birds may also be impacted by artificial lighting and end up grounded.  This phenomenon is exacerbated by increasing coastal development and poorly directed lighting.”

To reduce the impact of artificial light on seabirds, the following strategies are recommended in the report:

Dimming and Shielding Lights.  Shield exterior lighting to direct light downward and eliminate unnecessary skyward or seaward projections; dim lighting near sensitive areas, especially during peak fallout or migration periods.

Low Blue Content Lighting.  Use lights with warmer colours and lower colour temperatures (amber or red).

Predator Control.  Support predator control programmes to manage populations of feral cats and mongooses which prey on grounded seabirds, particularly during breeding and fledging.

Seasonal Adjustments and Community Engagement.  Encourage “Lights Out” campaigns during fledging periods; implement targeted community education programmes, such as the “Save Our Shearwaters” initiative, to reduce non-essential lighting at night.

Motion Sensors and Timers.  Install motion-sensor lighting in facilities near nesting and migratory hotspots to minimize unnecessary illumination, use automatic dimmers or timers to reduce light exposure during late-night hours.

Coastal Development Considerations:  Modify building designs in coastal areas to minimize skyglow and shield lighting during fledging seasons.

“By adopting these mitigation strategies, Hawai’i can significantly reduce the adverse effects of artificial lighting on both seabird and migratory bird populations, while also addressing predation threats.  These measures will help preserve vulnerable species and maintain the ecological balance of the islands.”

Close to fledging: a Hawaiian Petrel in the hand

The report proposes regulations that are situation-dependent, meaning the standards would not be a “one-size fits all” method.  The suggested next steps include tracking low traffic times for areas like parks and beaches to see if timers or dimmed lights would be effective in saving energy.  Committee members say the report is for information and discussion purposes and could be used by state lawmakers to shape future legislation, but no official legislation is being proposed.  The report will now be submitted to the State Legislature.

Access over a hundred previous articles in ACAP Latest News on the widespread effects of light pollution on burrowing petrels and shearwaters around the world.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 26 December 2025