UPDATE.  Nine transmitters were still working by  23 July.  Click here to view a 'hotspot' map. There is one very obvious hotspot of activity in a sea area approximately 1000-1500 km SW of the Galapagos Islands, with another hotspot of activity in the vicinity of the Galapagos Islands themselves".

Fourteen globally and nationally Vulnerable Black Petrel Procellaria parkinsoni chicks were tagged with satellite trackers by the ecological consultancy  Wildlife Management International at their Mount Hobson breeding colony on New Zealand’s Great Barrier Island in May 2018 in an endeavour to find out more about the at-sea movements of this ACAP-listed species as pre-breeding juveniles.  The study was initiated as a consequence of the poor return rate of banded juveniles as first-time breeders.

At the most recent report 11 of the 14 transmitters were still functioning.  The birds have followed similar routes eastwards across the Pacific towards South America.  They have been mostly concentrating their activity in an area of ocean approximately 1500 -1900 km SSW of the Galapagos Islands, although three birds are now close to the Galapagos and one has travelled on to come close to the South American coast.  The total distance travelled by the young birds to date is given as 160 733 km, averaging 11 480 km per bird.  Follow the petrels’ future movements (until the transmitter batteries run out) here.

Black Petrel at sea, photograph by 'Biz' Bell

A Black Petrel chick is fitted with a satellite transmitter, photograph from Samantha Ray, Wildlife Management International

Fledgling Black Petrel tracks by 15 July.  The crosses mark the last known positions of three birds that are no longer reporting

Read more here.

Earlier in the 2017/18 breeding season adult Black Petrels feeding chicks on Mount Hobson were satellite tracked by Wildlife Management International, revealing that they were making 5000 - 6000-km foraging trips “as far away as the east coast of Australia, or far to the east of the Chatham Islands”.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 16 July 2018

Back at the end of May this year ACAP Latest News reported that satellite tags had been attached to globally Endangered Grey-headed Albatross Thalassarche chrysostoma chicks prior to their departure from Bird Island by the British Antarctic Survey in order to determine their overlap with fisheries and to obtain data on juvenile survival.  Evidence from fishing vessels suggests that immature Grey-heads are killed by pelagic longline fisheries in areas that are not used regularly by non-breeding adults (click here).

Nine of the tagged birds fledged in early June and started moving north-eastwards in the South Atlantic.  Two came close to the South African coast and most have now passed below the southern tip of Africa crossing into the southern Indian Ocean.

Follow their further movements and distances travelled online with regular updates here.

See also a report by BirdLife International (which helped fund the research) on the tracked birds and the decrease in breeding numbers of Grey-headed Albatrosses on Bird Island that part-motivated the study.

Then and now: photomontage of a Grey-headed Albatross study colony on Bird Island by British Antarctic Survey, courtesy of BirdLife International

With thanks to Richard Phillips, British Antarctic Society and Stephanie Winnard, BirdLife International.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 13 July 2018

Two fishers have been sentenced after pleading guilty to eight charges of wilfully ill-treating seabirds, including albatrosses, between April 2012 and August 2014, while fishing in New Zealand waters.

Some birds were killed and others seriously injured.  The fishers used gaffs to hit seabirds, knocking one unconscious with a “golf swing” while it was next to the vessel.  Birds that came aboard were variously chased, punched, kicked and gaffed, receiving broken wings in some cases. Birds were also sprayed with a high pressure hose.  One albatross was released after a rope was tied around its neck.

The two fishers were sentenced to 125 and 200 hours' community work, respectively and NZ$ 1000 court costs were imposed.

Buller’s Albatross Thalassarche bulleri (Near Threatened) - one of the species mistreated

Photograph by Paul Sagar

Read more details here.

Read of a longline fisher sentenced for causing the deaths of 39 albatrosses by failing to use a bird-scaring line here.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 11 July 2018

Elizabeth (‘Biz’) and Mike Bell (Wildlife Management International Ltd) have produced a report for the Conservation Services Programme (CSP) of the New Zealand Department of Conservation that details 193 seabirds of 19 taxa captured and returned for autopsy by New Zealand longline, trawl and net fisheries in 2016/17.

The report’s abstract follows:

“New Zealand waters support a diverse range of seabird species, but much of the commercial fishing activity in the region overlaps with their ranges. The accurate identification of seabirds captured in New Zealand fisheries is vital for determining the potential impact of fisheries on these populations.  Between 1 July 2016 and 30 June 2017 a total of 193 seabirds comprising 19 taxa were incidentally killed as bycatch and returned for autopsy by on‐board New Zealand Government observers.  Birds were returned from 14 longline (n = 65 birds), 28 trawl (n = 115 birds) and 4 set net (n = 13 birds) vessels, and were dominated numerically by five species (Salvin’s albatross Thalassarche salvini, Buller’s albatross Thalassarche bulleri bulleri, sooty shearwater Puffinus griseus, New Zealand whitecapped albatross Thalassarche steadi and white‐chinned petrel Procellaria aequinoctialis). All birds returned from longline fisheries had injuries consistent with being hooked or entangled in the bill, throat or wing. In contrast, most birds (79.4%) returned from trawl fisheries were killed through entanglement in the net, cod‐end or pound, with 10.7% likely to have been killed by warp interaction or entanglement. Four birds were killed by striking the deck of the vessel. Birds had a higher mean fat scores as in the last fishing year, and discards, including offal, appear to continue to be an attractant for many seabirds. In addition to the seabirds that were returned for autopsy, examination of the Ministry for Primary Industries Central Observer Database and images provided by Government observers gave a total of a further 762 seabirds that were reported as interactions or photographed (as dead or alive captures) with 60 fishing vessels (and may include some noncapture interactions). Over two‐thirds (69.9%) of the seabirds reported in these interactions or photographed birds were released alive. Out of these 762 records of seabird interactions, photographs were taken of 252 seabirds consisting of 18 taxa. Image quality varied widely, with poor images being particularly common for birds that were alive and seen on‐board for short periods. Images for dead birds have improved with a number of images taken for each specimen. Recommendations are made to improve photo‐identifications in the future.”

At risk to longlines: Buller's Albatrosses forage in New Zealand waters, photograph by Aleks Terauds

Previous annual reports of autopsied seabirds killed by New Zealand from 1996 are referenced in the 2016/17 report and may be searched for online.

Reference:

Bell, E.A. & Bell, M.D. 2017 [published June 2018].  INT2016‐02 Identification of seabirds caught in New Zealand fisheries: 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017.  Blenheim: Wildlife Management International Limited.  31pp.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 11 July 2018