John Parkes (Kurahaupo Consulting, Christchurch, New Zealand) and colleagues have published open-access in the New Zealand Journal of Ecology on the New Zealand Government’s plan to eradicate introduced mammalian predators on island nature reserves by 2025, identifying which islands should be targeted.  Such action would include ridding Auckland Island of its House Mice Mus musculus, feral cats Felis catus and pigs Sus scrofa, thus eliminating their predation of seabirds, including ACAP-listed species, such as the Near Threatened White-capped Albatross Thalassarche steadi - a New Zealand endemic.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“In 2016, the New Zealand Government announced a policy to rid the country of key introduced predators (possums (Trichosurus vulpecula), ship rats (Rattus rattus), Norway rats (R. norvegicus) and mustelids (Mustela spp.)) by 2050. An interim goal under this policy is to remove all mammalian predators (the key species as well as mice (Mus musculus), kiore (R. exulans), cats (Felis catus), pigs (Sus scrofa) and hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus)) from island nature reserves by 2025. We identify the New Zealand islands over one hectare managed as reserves by the Department of Conservation (DOC) that have mammalian predators that can be eradicated. There are over 850 islands, islets, stacks and vegetated rocks in the New Zealand archipelago. We exclude islands in lakes and rivers and those smaller than one hectare, which leaves 616 islands, less than half of which are under some form of reserve status (286 islands entirely managed by DOC and 13 under mixed tenures but with some reserve land). One or more mammalian predators are known to occur on 48 of these islands, with the Government’s 2050 target species on 42 islands and other predators (in the absence of the target species) on six islands. The Government’s 2025 goal nominates one class of reserve, nature reserves. Of the 48 islands, just four islands are classed as nature reserves – two (Mauitaha and Araara Islands) with protected kiore in the Hen and Chickens group and two in the Auckland Islands group (Auckland with mice, cats and pigs; and Masked with mice and cats) – i.e. none with the key species of the wider 2050 goal. Therefore, we consider other reserve classes but place more or less strict risks of reinvasion, as indexed by known swimming ranges of the predators, to judge the feasibility of eradication. Relaxing the reserve class of the island, but not our selection of swimming ranges, results in 15 candidate islands where all mammalian predators present could be eradicated for the 2025 interim goal. Decisions on which islands to select for the programme need to consider costs and other constraints to eradicate different combinations of predators, and whether the island and its predators provide templates for the wider vision of a predator-free New Zealand, i.e. whether any of the key 2050 predators are present, the size of the island, and/or the presence of human inhabitants that complicate the predators to be targeted or constrain the use of some control methods.”

White-capped Albatross at the Auckland Islands, photograph by Graham Parker

Read a popular article on the paper here.

Reference:

John P. Parkes, J.P., Byrom, A.E & Edge, K.A. 2017.  Eradicating mammals on New Zealand island reserves: what is left to do?  New Zealand Journal of Ecology 41.  doi.org/10.20417/nzjecol.41.25.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 12 May 2017

The Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources is seeking comments on a Draft National Plan of Action for minimising the incidental catch of seabirds in Australian capture fisheries (NPOA–Seabirds).

“The draft NPOA–Seabirds has been developed in collaboration with the Northern Territory and state governments, scientists, environmental non-governmental organisations and commercial and recreational fisheries. The draft responds to concerns about the incidental catch of seabirds in Australian capture fisheries.  It outlines the need for a nationally consistent and coordinated management approach to avoid or minimise the incidental seabird bycatch in all capture fisheries within Australia” (click here).

Australia's endemic Shy Albatross incubates on Albatross Island, photograph by Drew Lee

The scope of this plan includes all species of birds that occur naturally in Australian marine areas, all commercial, recreational and other relevant capture fisheries, all waters under the jurisdiction of Commonwealth, state and Northern Territory fisheries, and all fishing undertaken by Australian-flagged fishing vessels on the high seas, including areas governed by regional fisheries and conservation bodies.

Submissions must be lodged to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 9 June 2017.

Reference:

Department of Agriculture and Water Resources 2017. Draft National Plan of Action for Minimising the Incidental Catch of Seabirds in Australian Capture Fisheries.  Canberra: Department of Agriculture and Water Resources.  34 pp.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 11 May 2017

Davi Castro Tavares (Laboratório de Ciências Ambientais, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense, Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil) and colleagues have published in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin on the incidence of plastic items in the digestive tracts of 22 seabird species, including ACAP-listed albatrosses and petrels, washed up on the Brazilian coastline.  Highest incidences of ingested plastic werer found in Black-browed Albatrosses Thalassarche melanophris, White-chinned Petrels Procellaria aequinoctialis and Great Shearwaters Ardenna gravis.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Marine debris such as plastic fragments and fishing gears are accumulating in the ocean at alarming rates. This study assesses the incidence of debris in the gastrointestinal tracts of seabirds feeding at different depths and found stranded along the Brazilian coast in the period 2010–2013. More than half (55%) of the species analysed, corresponding to 16% of the total number of individuals, presented plastic particles in their gastrointestinal tracts. The incidence of debris was higher in birds feeding predominantly at intermediate (3–6 m) and deep (20–100 m) waters than those feeding at surface (< 2 m). These results suggest that studying the presence of debris in organisms mainly feeding at the ocean surface provides a limited view about the risks that this form of pollution has on marine life and highlight the ubiquitous and three-dimensional distribution of plastic in the oceans.”

White-chinned Petrels, photograph by Ben Phalan

With thanks to Davi Castro Tavares.

Reference:

Tavares, D.C., J.F. de Moura, A. & Merico, S. 2017.  Incidence of marine debris in seabirds feeding at different water depths.  Marine Pollution Bulletin.  doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.04.012.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 10 May 2017

The Tenth Meeting of ACAP’s Advisory Committee (AC10) will be held from Monday 11 September to Friday 15 September 2017, in the CQ Comfort and Quality Hotels, Wellington, New Zealand (click here).

Meetings of the Advisory Committee’s Seabird Bycatch Working Group and the Population and Conservation Status Working Group will precede AC10 at the same venue (SBWG8 from Monday 4 to Wednesday 6 September, and PaCSWG4 from Thursday 7 to Friday 8 September).  A Heads of Delegation meeting will be convened on Sunday, 10 September 2017 in the late afternoon/ evening.

A workshop on the conservation of gadfly petrels in the genus Pterodroma and other small burrowing petrel species will be held on Saturday 9 September 2017 in the same venue.

The Second Circular for the 2017 meetings, in all three official ACAP languages, is now available on this web site, along with an attached draft agenda for the Advisory Committee (click here for the English text).

A draft agenda for AC10 is attached to the Second Circular.  It is requested that Parties to the Agreement advise the Secretariat by 13 June of any new items they would like to have added to the agenda. Templates for meeting documents (including SBWG8, PaCSWG4 and AC10) are available here.

Chatham Albatrosses: endemic to New Zealand, photograph by Graham Robertson

It would be appreciated if these templates could be used when submitting documents to the Secretariat. In order to contain translation costs and facilitate the reading of documents in non-native languages, it would be appreciated if the length of meeting documents could be kept to a minimum. Please consider submitting supporting information as an Information Paper, rather than in the Working Document itself.  Click here for deadlines for submission of meeting documents.

Parties, Non-Party Range States and Observers are reminded that details of their representatives must be provided to the Secretariat prior to the meeting (e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). In order to facilitate the work of the Secretariat, delegates are requested to complete the registration form on the ACAP website by 25 August.  A block booking has been made at the CQ Comfort and Quality Hotels for delegates (see the Second Circular for rates and information on how to book.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 09 May 2017