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"We catch up with Dimas Gianuca, ATF Team Leader and Scientific Coordinator for Projeto Albatroz in Brazil, about his new paper on the 'Intentional Killing and Extensive Aggressive Handling of Albatrosses and Petrels at Sea in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean'. We talk about the findings of the paper, what this means for albatross conservation in the Atlantic and what the ATF are doing to combat this behaviour" - Albatross Task Force

Bill mutilations reported in the publication from the south-western Atlantic

Dimas Gianuca (Projeto Albatroz & Albatross Task Force/Brazil, Santos, Brazil) and colleagues have reporteded in the journal Biological Conservation on 46 albatrosses and petrels found mutilated in the south-western Atlantic off South America.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Large Procellariiformes (albatrosses and petrels) constitute a highly threatened group of birds, for which bycatch in fisheries is the most prevalent threat. At-sea intentional killing and post-capture, handling-related injuries, remain poorly understood menaces. Here, we report fishermen off southern Brazil trying to reduce bait depredation in pole-and-line and handlining fisheries by hitting birds with a metal piece attached to a pole-and-line on four occasions. Fishermen also mutilated or killed birds caught alive on the lines (aggressive handling). In addition, we present a compilation of records of Procellariiformes with bill mutilations across the southwest Atlantic Ocean. Related to the intentional killing events, 16 birds of four species (two globally threatened) were recorded dead (n = 13) or injured (n = 3) with head trauma, broken limbs, wounds or bill mutilation. Observations spanning 1999–2019 across the waters of Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina totalize 46 Procellariiformes of eight species (four globally threatened) recorded with bill mutilations (29 alive and 17 dead). Mutilations were likely caused by aggressive handling of birds caught alive, potentially in Brazilian hook-and-line fisheries or in demersal and pelagic longline fisheries across the southwest Atlantic. Observations of deliberate killing from multiple vessels and the recurrent records of mutilated birds suggest those practices represent pervasive but largely undocumented threats to seabirds and could complicate the detection of fishery-related population effects. Coordinated actions by international bodies and national authorities are urgently needed to address this threat, including increasing at-sea observation, enforcement actions and campaigns targeting better handling practices among fishermen.”

See also a post to ACAP Latest News on bill mutilations of albatrosses, and a popular account on the new publication.

With thanks to Dimas Gianuca, Projeto Albatroz.

Reference:

Gianuca, D., Bugoni, L., Jiménez, S., Daudt, N.W., Miller, P., Canani, G., Silva-Costa, A., Faria, F.A., Bastida, J., Seco Pon, J.P., Yates, O., Serafini, P. & Bond, A.L. 2020.  Intentional killing and extensive aggressive handling of albatrosses and petrels at sea in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean.  Biological Conservation doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108817.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 19 November 2020, updated 01 December 2020

LKO (colour-banded light blue, black, orange), an 11-year-old female, flies over the colony

The 2020/21 breeding season of globally Endangered and nationally Naturally Uncommon Northern Royal Albatrosses Diomedea sanfordi is now well underway in Aotearoa/New Zealand’s only mainland albatross colony at Pukekura/Taiaroa Head on the end of South Island’s Otago Peninsula.  A total of 41 eggs has been laid; the latest an egg has ever been laid in the colony is 1 December, so no more are expected from today.  Note this figure does not include any female/female pairs that lay eggs each that would boost the count.  The eggs will start hatching in mid-January before fledging more than seven months later in September or October.  Over 120 individually marked birds have been recorded in the colony since the new season commenced, some of them non-breeding birds.  Department of Conservation Biodiversity Ranger Sharyn Broni says it’s the second highest number of eggs recorded at the colony and is the sign of a good season ahead.

“The blue-banded albatross will be a young adult that has returned to the headland after spending years out at sea.  On average, the Northern Royal Albatross spend five years out at sea before returning to the headland to find a partner and start breeding when they are around eight years old.”

This season’s total compares with 36 eggs laid in the 2019/20 breeding season, from which 24 chicks fledged, with the last leaving the headland on 3 October this year – giving an overall breeding success of 66.7%.  Fifty-one eggs were laid in the 2018/19 season, a record from which 28 chicks fledged (54.9%) (click here).

The live-streaming 'Royal Cam' (which also has night vision) is back in action from this month for its sixth season, directed this time at the incubating pair LGL (a 12-year-old female) and LGK (an 11-year-old male).  The Department of Conservation reports: “The couple are the parents of Karere, the star of the 2018/19 season.  This is the first time a pair has been seen mating and the egg laid in view of the cam.  LGL and LGK have set up a nest and laid an egg, which has been candled to check it is fertile [it is].  It is their third breeding attempt at the Pukekura/Taiaroa Head colony after they first got together in 2017 [when their breeding attempt failed at the egg stage].  Since fledging Karere in 2019, they have had a year to build up condition for the 2020/21 breeding season”  Great albatrosses, such as the Northern Royal, only breed biennially (every second year) if successful due to their long breeding season.

Last season (December 2019 to September 2020), the Royal Cam had more than 2.5 million views globally and was watched for 584 000 hours.

The male LGK incubating at the 2020/21 Royal Cam nest site; the egg was laid on 07 November 2020. Photograph by Sharyn Broni

"Royal Cam Albatross ~ LGL Returns Home After 13 days"

Additional information and photographs from the Royal Albatross Centre and the Royal Cam Albatross New Zealand Facebook pages.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 01 December 2020

The albatrosses of southern Africa, Gough and the Prince Edward Islands

Following on from his poster depicting the albatrosses of New Zealand, illustrator Jamie Watts has produced another in his albatross series.  This time he has painted the 16 species  recorded at sea in the waters of southern Africa (Namibia and South Africa) as well as those that breed or have been recorded as vagrants on Marion and Prince Edward Islands in the southern Indian Ocean and Gough Island in the South Atlantic.  The adult birds are illustrated standing and in flight.

The 16 species were chosen following the coverage of albatrosses in Peter Ryan’s Guide to Seabirds of Southern Africa (click here for the ACAP Latest News review).

Jamie’s albatross posters (and his others including of penguins and marine mammals) are available for purchase from JamieWattsArt in two size options (50 x 70 cm and 61 x 91 cm).  They are professionally printed on high-quality A3 satin matt photo paper from 12 to 20-megapixel, hand-produced originals and are mailed in a tube.

Click here for a list of all 22 species of albatrosses with links to their global threatened status.

With grateful thanks to Jamie Watts, who is kindly allowing his posters to help promote this and next years’ World Albatross Day, held on 19 June.

Reference:

Ryan P.[G.] 2017.  Guide to Seabirds of Southern Africa.  Cape Town: Struik Nature.  160 pp.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 30 November 2020

An inquisitive Tristan Albatross painted by Lea Finke, from the photograph below by Michelle Risi

Recent news from the United Kingdom's Gough Island in the South Atlantic is that the Critically Endangered Tristan Albatross Diomedea dabbenena has had yet another poor breeding season due to the depredations by introduced House Mice.  Now a decision made earlier this week by the Board of Trustees of the UK’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has given the go ahead for the mouse eradication exercise on Gough next year.

In a blog yesterday, the RSPB writes:

“Over the last nine months, our team has continued to work at pace, planning to ensure we are in the best position possible, ready for this decision.  Almost the entire team of experts we had in place for 2020 (more than 60 people from four different continents) have made themselves available next year, and we have helicopters, ships and other contractors lined up ready to deploy.

We are acutely aware that the Covid-19 pandemic has introduced greater challenges to an already difficult operation.  While we cannot predict what the world will look like next year, we have factored as much mitigation as possible into our planning and we believe we can mobilise the teams safely to and through South Africa to ensure they can arrive on Gough to carry out the operational phase.

Our trustees, board members and programme team all agree that waiting until 2022 will not bring any better chances of success, that the restoration of Gough needs to happen as soon as possible and that we are in a position where we are confident we can see this through next year.”

Tristan Albatross, photograph by Michelle Risi

This year’s intended eradication by the RSPB’s Gough Island Restoration Programme (GIRP) was cancelled due to restrictions on international travel coming from the COVID-19 pandemic.  The RSPB is now hoping it can work round any continuing pandemic restrictions by delivering COVID-19-free field teams, and all the required equipment, to the island next year.  So is ACAP!

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 27 December 2020