Last month ACAP attended the the 8th Meeting of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission's (IATTC) Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC8, 8-12 May 2017), preceded by the 7th Meeting of the IATTC Working Group on Bycatch (BWG7, 5-6 May 2017) in La Jolla, California, USA.  The Agreement was represented by its Executive Secretary, Dr Marco Favero.

Yellowfin Tuna Thunnus albacares

ACAP contributed the following four papers which it introduced to the Bycatch Working Group:

• SAC-08 INF D(a)  Summary of tools and guidelines available to assist observers in the identification of seabird species and the handling of bycaught individuals (in collaboration with BirdLife International)
• SAC-08 INF D(b)  The development of ACAP seabird bycatch indicators, data needs, methodological approaches and reporting requirements
• SAC-08 INF D(c)  The conservation status and priorities for albatrosses and large petrels
• SAC-08 INF D(d)  Current ACAP advice for reducing the impact of pelagic longline fishing operations on seabirds

The information contained in the papers led to a number of seabird recommendations drafted by the BWG that were then presented to the SAC. All these recommendations on seabird issues were adopted by Scientific Advisory Committee, including:

1. That the existing guidelines and other tools relating to the removal of fishing hooks from incidentally caught seabirds be made available to CPCs (Contracting Parties and Cooperating Non-Contracting Parties) through the IATTC web site;
2. A request for the improvement in seabird data in annual reports by CPCs pursuant to Paragraph 7 of Resolution C-11-02 to Mitigate the Impact on Seabirds of Fishing for Species covered by the IATTC; for example the identification to seabird species, and the provision of spatial and temporal stratified bycatch data, amongst others;
3. That the Commission analyze the extent of implementation by CPCs of the measures contained in Resolution C-11-02 with a view to updating the measure, if necessary; and
4. That the Commission consider revising the suite of mitigation measures in Resolution C-11-02.

Also relevant to the ACAP agenda were recommendations on electronic monitoring encouraging the development of pilot projects in longline vessels, and the inclusion in national reports of any relevant information on the use of electronic monitoring systems at the national level.

Further collaboration between ACAP and IATTC will include engagement with fishing nations to improve data collection, reporting and analysis, and the possible update of the current seabird conservation measure. The collaboration will include ACAP’s attendance at the upcoming 92nd Meeting of the IATTC, to be held in Mexico City, México  from 24 to 28 July 2017, which will offer the opportunity to the Secretariats to sign the renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding between both organisations.

Marco Favero, ACAP Executive Secretary, 02 June 2017

Dominic Rollinson (Percy FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa) has reported  in the on-line and open-access (but not peer-reviewed) publication Biodiversity Observations on five Critically Endangered Tristan Albatrosses Diomedea dabbenena colour banded on Gough Island that were subsequently observed in southern African waters.

“All of the individuals observed were adult males, aged 19 - 35 years.  Four of the five birds had attempted to breed in the last 1-2 years, however all had failed”.

A colour-banded Tristan Albatross at sea, photograph by Meidad Goran

Read more on the at-sea distribution of colour-banded Tristan Albatrosses in ACAP Latest News here.

Reference:

Rollinson, D.P. 2016. At-sea sightings of banded Tristan Albatrosses off the Western Cape and a review of records in southern African waters. Biodiversity Observations 7.66: 1- 4.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 01 June 2017

Livingston Island belongs to the South Shetland Island group in Maritime Antarctica. It lies between Snow Island and Greenwich Island, approximately 110 km from the Antarctic Continent, separated by the Bransfield Strait.  The Southern Giant Petrel Macronectes giganteus is the only ACAP-listed species breeding on Livingston Island, at two known localities, Hannah Point and Byers Peninsula (ACAP Site No. 85).

Hannah Point is a narrow peninsula on the south coast of Livingston Island of c. 122 ha with elevations 30 to 50 m above sea level.  The area becomes ice-free during the austral summer mainly due to steep slopes and hills that do not accumulate ice and snow.

The Southern Giant Petrel population at Hannah Point is of c. 308 breeding pairs divided into six breeding groups and some solitary nests, according to the last ground census in December 2012 by Brazilian researchers from the Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos.  This represents a marked increase from counts of only 17 pairs in 1958, 24 pairs in 1986, and 110-246 occupied nests from 1997/98 to 2005 by the Antarctic Site Inventory.  Nests are located on elevated areas with gentle slopes covered by sediment, boulders and pebbles, which are used in nest construction.

A Southern Giant Petrel colony  at Hannah Point

A White-phase Southern Giant Petrel on its pebble nest at Hannah Point

Due to the high frequency of tourists visiting Hannah Point each year the area is managed by a Visitor Site Guide document produced by the Antarctic Treaty System.

Views of Hannah Point

Moss and pebbles make a Southern Giant Petrel nest at Hannah Point

Photographs by Maria Virginia Petry.

Selected Literature:

Antarctic Treaty System 2014.  Hannah Point Antarctic Treaty Visitor Site Guide. 2 pp.

Harris, C.M., Lorenz, K., Fishpool, L.D.C., Lascelles, B., Cooper, J., Coria, N.R., Croxall, J.P., Emmerson, L.M., Fijn, R., Fraser, W.L., Jouventin, P., LaRue, M.A., Le Maho, Y., Lynch, H.J., Naveen, R., Patterson-Fraser, D.L., Peter, H.-U., Poncet, S., Phillips, R.A., Southwell, C.J., van Franeker, J.A., Weimerskirch, H., Wienecke, B. & Woehler, E.J. 2015.  Important Bird Areas in Antarctica 2015.  Cambridge: BirdLife International and Environmental Research & Assessment Ltd.  302 pp.

Lynch, J.J., Naveen, R. & Fagan, W.F. 2008.  Censuses of penguin, Blue-eyed Shag Phalacrocorax atriceps and Southern Giant Petrel Macronectes giganteus populations on the Antarctic Peninsula, 2001-2007.  Marine Ornithology 36: 83-97.

Naveen, R. 1997.  The Oceanites Site Guide to the Antarctic Peninsula.  Chevy Chase: Oceanites Inc.  129 pp.

Naveen, R. 2003. Compendium of Antarctic Peninsula Visitor Sites 2nd Edition.  A Report to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Chevy Chase: Oceanites Inc.  381 pp.

Naveen, R., Forrest, S.C., Dagit, R.G., Blight, L.K., Trivelpiece, W.Z. & Trivelpiece, S.G. 2000.  Censuses of penguin, Blue-eyed Shag, and Southern Giant Petrel populations in the Antarctic Peninsula region , 1994-2000.  Polar Record 36: 323-334.

Patterson, D.L., Woehler, E.J., Croxall, J.P., Cooper, J., Poncet, S., Peter, H.-U., Hunter, S. & Fraser, W.R. 2008.  Breeding distribution and population status of the Northern Giant Petrel Macronectes halli and the Southern Giant Petrel M. giganteus.  Marine Ornithology 36: 115-124 & appendices.

Poncet, S. & Poncet, J. 2007.  Southern Ocean Cruising Second Edition.  Cambridge: Environmental Research & Assessment.  160 pp.

Maria Virginia Petry & Júlia Victória Grohmann Finger, Laboratório de Ornitologia e Animais Marinhos, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, São Leopoldo, Brazil, 31 May 2017

Livingston Island belongs to the South Shetland Island group in Maritime Antarctica. It lies between Snow Island and Greenwich Island, approximately 110 km from the Antarctic Continent, separated by the Bransfield Strait.  The Southern Giant Petrel Macronectes giganteus is the only ACAP-listed species breeding on Livingston Island, at two known localities, Byers Peninsula and Hannah Point (ACAP Breeding Site No. 86).  Byers Peninsula is an ice-free rocky promontory supporting vascular plants, mosses and lichens.

A white-phase Southern Giant Petrel in Antarctica, photograph by Michael Dunn

A population estimate for Southern Giant Petrels which breed mainly along the coastline is of c. 2793 individuals with 238 nests found over 17 km between Ocoa Point and Cerro Negro in 2008/09. An early estimate was of 216 pairs in 1965, suggesting little change over four decades, although the count areas differed somewhat.

Byers Peninsula has been designated as an Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA No. 126; originally designated as a Specially Protected Area in 1966). In terms of the ASPA’s 2002 management plan entry is only by permit issued by an appropriate national authority. The peninsula is also a BirdLife International Important Bird Area (ANT054), designated for its Antarctic Tern Sterna vittata and Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus populations.

With thanks to Patricia Pereira Serafini.

Selected Literature:

ATCM 2016.  Management Plan for Antarctic Specially Protected Area No. 126 Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, South Shetland.  ATCM XXXIX Final Report.  pp. 51-74.

Harris, C.M., Lorenz, K., Fishpool, L.D.C., Lascelles, B., Cooper, J., Coria, N.R., Croxall, J.P., Emmerson, L.M., Fijn, R., Fraser, W.L., Jouventin, P., LaRue, M.A., Le Maho, Y., Lynch, H.J., Naveen, R., Patterson-Fraser, D.L., Peter, H.-U., Poncet, S., Phillips, R.A., Southwell, C.J., van Franeker, J.A., Weimerskirch, H., Wienecke, B. & Woehler, E.J. 2015. Important Bird Areas in Antarctica 2015.  Cambridge: BirdLife International and Environmental Research & Assessment Ltd.  302 pp.

Gil-Delgado, J.A., González-Solís, J. & Barbosa, A. 2013.  Populations of breeding birds in Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands.  Antarctic Science 25: 303-306.

Lynch, J.J., Naveen, R. & Fagan, W.F. 2008.  Censuses of penguin, Blue-eyed Shag Phalacrocorax atriceps and Southern Giant Petrel Macronectes giganteus populations on the Antarctic Peninsula, 2001-2007.  Marine Ornithology 36: 83-97.

Naveen, R. 1997.  The Oceanites Site Guide to the Antarctic Peninsula.  Chevy Chase: Oceanites Inc.  129 pp.

Naveen, R. 2003. Compendium of Antarctic Peninsula Visitor Sites 2nd Edition.  A Report to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Chevy Chase: Oceanites Inc.  381 pp.

Naveen, R., Forrest, S.C., Dagit, R.G., Blight, L.K., Trivelpiece, W.Z. & Trivelpiece, S.G. 2000.  Censuses of penguin, Blue-eyed Shag, and Southern Giant Petrel populations in the Antarctic Peninsula region , 1994-2000,  Polar Record 36: 323-334.

Patterson, D.L., Woehler, E.J., Croxall, J.P., Cooper, J., Poncet, S., Peter, H.-U., Hunter, S. & Fraser, W.R. 2008.  Breeding distribution and population status of the Northern Giant Petrel Macronectes halli and the Southern Giant Petrel M. giganteus.  Marine Ornithology 36: 115-124 & appendices.

Poncet, S. & Poncet, J. 2007.  Southern Ocean Cruising Second Edition.  Cambridge: Environmental Research & Assessment.  160 pp.

Maria Virginia Petry & Júlia Victória Grohmann Finger, Laboratório de Ornitologia e Animais Marinhos, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, São Leopoldo, Brazil, 30 May 2017

EDITORIAL NOTE:  photographs of Byers Peninsula and its Southern Giant Petrels are required to illustrate this account.