Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels

ACAP Latest News

Read about recent developments and findings in procellariiform science and conservation relevant to the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels in ACAP Latest News.

Single Short-tailed Albatross pairs return to Midway and Kure Atolls in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

“George” and “Geraldine”, a pair of globally Vulnerable Short-tailed Albatrosses Phoebastria albatrus, returned to Sand Island in the USA’s Midway Atoll in the north Pacific on October 24 and October 25 this year, respectively, thereafter reported as spending time together on the island.

Short-tailed Albatross pair (George is on the right) on Midway Atoll, October 2018; photograph by Madalyn Riley, USFWS Volunteer

George is a male who has been visiting Midway Atoll since November 2006. He hatched from the colony on Japan’s Torishima in 2003 and was banded there as a chick.

“George's partner (Geraldine) has not been positively identified by band number since the two birds first appeared together [on Midway] in November 2016, but it is suspected to be an individual that was banded at Torishima in April 2008 and was first observed on Sand Island in early 2012. For several years, the subadult was observed on its own in town and elsewhere on the north side of the island. In late 2016 and early 2017, the two birds spent time together in the male’s traditional neighbourhood, where they appeared together last year and again this week.”

Last year, the two birds courted and appeared to start nesting activity but then suddenly appeared on an egg a few meters away. When the egg hatched, we confirmed our suspicions that the pair had usurped a neighboring Black-footed albatross [P. nigripes] nest and then had a young black-footed albatross chick, which they successfully cared for until it fledged in mid-June. Geraldine’s gender has not been confirmed and remains in question until the pair produce[s] an egg of [its] own”.

ACAP Signs a new Memorandum of Understanding with the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources

During this year’s meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR XXXVII) ACAP renewed its MoU with CCAMLR. Outgoing Executive Secretary Marco Favero signed the MoU with the CCAMLR’s Executive Secretary, Dr David Agnew. The new MoU replaces earlier versions first signed in March 2013.

Drs David Agnew, CCAMLR Executive Secretary and Marco Favero, ACAP Executive Secretary, sign the new MoU between the two organizations on 1 November in CCAMLR's offices

Photograph by the CCAMLR Secretariat

The objective of the MoU is to facilitate cooperation between CCAMLR and ACAP with a view to supporting efforts to minimise the incidental by-catch of albatrosses and petrels listed in Annex 1 of ACAP within the CAMLR Convention Area. In terms of the MoU the two bodies may consult, cooperate and collaborate on areas of common responsibilities that are relevant to the conservation, including the protection and management, of albatrosses and petrels, including:

(i) exchange of experience in the development of systems for collecting and analysing data, and exchanging information concerning the by-catch of albatrosses and petrels in the CAMLR Convention Area;

(ii) exchange of information regarding management approaches relevant to the conservation of albatrosses and petrels;

(iii) implementation of education and awareness programs for fishers who operate in areas where albatrosses and petrels may be encountered;

(iv) exchange of information on the design, testing and implementation of albatross and petrel by-catch mitigation measures relevant to fishing operations in the CAMLR Convention Area;

(v) examining the need for, and development of, training programs on conservation techniques and measures in order to mitigate threats affecting albatrosses and petrels;

(vi) sharing of expertise, techniques and knowledge relevant to the conservation of albatrosses and petrels in the CAMLR Convention Area; [and]

(vii) reciprocal participation with observer status at relevant meetings of the ACAP Parties and CCAMLR, consistent with the requirements of CCAMLR and ACAP concerning observer status.

The new MoU with CCAMLR will remain in place for three years, after which it may be renewed or amended.

ACAP has MoUs or equivalent documents with a total of nine other bodies, five of which are Regional Fishery Management Organizations that work to manage tuna stocks on the High Seas outside national jurisdictions (tRFMOs). ACAP works closely with these tRFMOs, attending many of their meetings and offering advice on reducing seabird bycatch in the fisheries they manage (click here to access these MoUs).

Regions covered by the five tuna Regional Fishery Management Organizations:

ACAP has a Memorandum of Understanding with all five, as well as with CCAMLR

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 21 November 2018

CCAMLR hears that seabird bycatch levels have dropped in the Southern Ocean but problems remain at sea farther north

As in previous years, members of the ACAP Secretariat last month attended as observers annual meetings of the Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) and its Scientific Committee, held last month in Hobart, Australia.

CCAMLR was established by international convention in 1982 with the objective of conserving Antarctic marine life. This was in response to increasing commercial interest in Antarctic krill resources, a keystone component of the Antarctic ecosystem and a history of over-exploitation of several other marine resources in the Southern Ocean (click here).

A paper presented to the 18th Meeting of the Scientific Committee’s Working Group on Fish Stock Assessment (WG-FSA) by the CCAMLR Secretariat (WG-FSA-18/13 Rev. 1), which met immediately prior to the Scientific Committee, noted that seabird bycatch levels registered during the last season were the lowest on record, a fact welcomed by the ACAP Observer. This is attributed in part to a significant decrease over the last decade in seabird bycatch observed within France’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) around its sub-Antarctic islands in the southern Indian Ocean.

Dr Marco Favero, ACAP Executive Secretary, presented a paper to the 37th Meeting of the Scientific Committee (SC-CCAMLR-XXXVII) that gave an update on the conservation status, distribution and priorities for albatrosses and petrels within the CCAMLR area.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Thirteen ACAP species (out of 31 currently listed) are currently showing overall population declines. The population trends of a large proportion of 16 ACAP species with significant distribution in the CCAMLR area are still uncertain or showed declines during the last two decades, and two thirds of the total is listed by the IUCN as threatened. The greatest threat to the ACAP species is incidental mortality in longline and trawl fisheries. CCAMLR has achieved outstanding success in reducing seabird bycatch in the area under its jurisdiction to negligible levels. However, the species distributed in the Convention Area are highly migratory and largely extend their distribution in neighbouring waters, where bycatch is still occurring, both in jurisdictional waters as well as those administrated by RFMOs. Addressing the pervasive threat of fisheries bycatch for species as wide-ranging as albatrosses and petrels requires concerted and collaborative management actions covering both national and international waters. Bycatch of seabirds in adjacent regions may undermine the success that CCAMLR has achieved to date, and the conservation status of those species that breed or forage in the Convention Area is dependent on efforts to minimise bycatch both within the CCAMLR area, and importantly outside of it, both in jurisdictional waters and the high seas.”

In its preliminary report* the Scientific Committee noted ACAP’s paper and stated that it welcomed its ongoing collaboration with the Agreement. It also thanked the outgoing ACAP Executive Secretary, noting it was his last year in the position. Ms Christine Bogel, from New Zealand, takes up the role at month end (click here).

References**:

ACAP Secretariat 2018. Update on the conservation status, distribution and priorities for albatrosses and petrels in the CCAMLR area. SC-CAMLR-XXXVII/BG/010. 6 pp.

CCAMLR Secretariat 2018. Summary of incidental mortality associated with fishing activities collected in scientific observer and vessel data during the 2018 season. WG-FSA-18/13 Rev. 1. 8 pp.

*Reports of CCAMLR Scientific Committee annual meetings are made publicly available online once the text has been adopted by Parties inter-sessionally (click here).

**Papers submitted to CCAMLR meetings, including those to its Scientific Committee and working groups, are password-protected and are thus not publicly available.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 20 November 2018

Record numbers of Scopoli’s and Yelkouan Shearwater fledglings downed by light pollution in Malta this year

Totals of 24 Scopoli’s Calonectris diomedea (Least Concern) and nine globally Vulnerable Yelkouan Puffinus yelkouan Shearwater fledglings have been found in the Maltese Islands following their downing by light pollution at night this year. Both totals represent increases over previous breeding seasons (19 Scopoli’s were collected in 2017), considered at least partially due to appeals to the public to report and hand in fledglings they see for release to the sea. All the recovered birds were successfully released.

Scopoli's Shearwater fledgling at the cliff edge

Bright lights at night in Malta threaten Scopoli's Shearwaters

“Grounded shearwaters are extremely vulnerable to predation, collision with vehicles, and dehydration, making light-induced strandings a leading cause of mortality for young shearwaters worldwide. A change in our nocturnal environment has seen shearwater strandings increase dramatically in recent years. The current period of rapid urbanisation and development that Malta is currently undergoing is likely the major contributing factor to this deteriorating situation. However, thanks to an increase in public awareness generated through LIFE Arċipelagu Garnija about stranded shearwaters, more birds have been rescued and safely released. Coastal light pollution arising from excessively bright LEDs and inefficient directing of light is the main cause of young shearwaters becoming stranded on land. Light pollution occurs as a result of poorly installed lights, excessive illumination of structures and inefficient directing of light”.

“BirdLife Malta’s LIFE Arċipelagu Garnija project is continuing to work towards mitigating the impacts of light pollution. On the 22nd November, the project will be co-hosting a light pollution workshop with ADŻ Green Youth Malta and the Light Pollution Awareness Group at Salina Nature Reserve to inform local councils, business owners and various associations on the dangers of light pollution with a focus on Malta’s seabirds”.

Linking Sooty Shearwaters and the Southern Oscillation Index through machine learning

Grant Humphries (Black Bawks Data Science Ltd., Fort Augustus, Scotland, U.K.) has authored a chapter in a book entitled Machine Learning for Ecology and Sustainable Natural Resource Management that he has co-edited that considers the relationship between the globally Near Threatened Sooty Shearwater Ardenna grisea and climatic conditions.

The chapter’s abstract follows:

“Previous work has shown that sooty shearwater (Puffinus griseus [sic]) harvest data are able to predict shifts in the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) by approximately 4–14 months. In this study, the mechanisms of this relationship are examined. The oceanographic regions in our study area that best explain variation in SOI from 1 to 12 months after peak shearwater chick size were Southeast of New Zealand along the Polar and sub-Antarctic fronts and in the southern regions of the sub-Antarctic water zone. Spearman correlations of oceanographic parameters show that within the sub-Antarctic water and core foraging areas of sooty shearwaters, positive significant relationships exist between SOI and wind speed, significant wave height charnock parameter, and chick size. A model that combined the significant parameters from both offshore regions and the nearshore foraging area of sooty shearwaters, had a Pearson’s correlation of r > 0.8 for SOI values from 0 to 14 months after peak chick size. A combination of parameters and regions best explain the variation in the SOI data, however the most important variables are those that represent general turbulence in the sub-Antarctic water and Polar front regions (i.e., wind speed, and significant wave height). Using seabirds as an indicator of upcoming climate events could lead modelers to regions of importance for the formation of El Niño events, and highlights the importance of integrating ecological signals into climate models.”

Sooty Shearwater at sea, photograph by John Graham

Reference:

Humphries, G.R.W. 2018. Breaking away from ‘traditional’ uses of machine learning: a case study linking Sooty Shearwaters (Ardenna griseus [sic]) and upcoming changes in the Southern Oscillation Index. In: Humphries, G.R.W., Magness, D.R. & Huettmann, F. (Eds). Machine Learning for Ecology and Sustainable Natural Resource Management. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature. pp. 263-283.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 16 November 2018