David Costantini (Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France) and colleagues have published in the journal Science of The Total Environment on levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in Scopoli's Shearwater Calonectris diomedea.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Little is known about the accumulation of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and its consequences for seabirds in the Mediterranean basin. We characterised the plasma contaminant profile (polychlorinated biphenyls ΣPCBs; organochlorine pesticides ΣOCPs; polybrominated diphenyl ethers ΣPBDEs) of a population of the seabird Scopoli's shearwater (Calonectris diomedea) that breeds in the southern Mediterranean (Linosa Island) and investigated (i) whether sex, stable isotope ratios (related to diet), reproductive phase (early incubation vs. late breeding season) and body mass explained variation in contaminant burden and (ii) whether they predict health-related variables. The predominant category of POPs was ΣPCBs contributing between 53.0 and 92.4% of the total POPs in each shearwater. The percentage contribution of ΣOCPs to total POPs ranged between 7.6 and 47.0%, while that of ΣPBDEs ranged between < 1% and 22.1%. Near the end of the breeding season, concentrations of ΣPCBs, ΣOCPs and ΣPOPs were significantly higher than at the beginning of the incubation period. ΣPBDEs were higher in males than females near the end of the breeding season, while they were higher in females than males at the beginning of the egg incubation period. Carbon- and nitrogen isotope ratios and individual body mass were not significantly associated with any contaminant class. Mates differed in the concentration of POPs, but they had similar stable isotope values. There was little evidence for a connection between contaminants and blood-based markers of oxidative balance. None of the contaminants predicted the probability of a bird being resighted as a breeder the following year. Thus, although POPs were present at high concentrations in some individuals, our study suggests little concern regarding POP exposure for this shearwater population.”

Fledgling Scopoli's Shearwater

Reference:

Costantini, D., Sebastiano, M., Müller, M.S., Eulaers, I., Ambus, P., Malarvannan, G., Covaci, A., Massa, B. & Dell'Omo, G. 2017.  Individual variation of persistent organic pollutants in relation to stable isotope ratios, sex, reproductive phase and oxidative status in Scopoli's shearwaters (Calonectris diomedea) from the Southern Mediterranean.  Science of The Total Environment 15: 179-187.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 05 May 2017

Will Chatfield-Taylor (Olsson Associates, Overland Park, Kansas, USA) has published open-access in the journal Marine Ornithology on the breeding and foraging distribution of Audubon’s Shearwaters Puffinus lherminieri in the Caribbean in relation to predictable thermal fronts.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“This study aims to better understand how the nesting distribution of Audubon’s Shearwaters Puffinus lherminieri in the Caribbean is associated with the location of predictable ocean fronts, in turn reflecting the different foraging strategies employed by males and females during their pre-laying exodus. The study compares the spatial distribution of bathymetric features — generators of fronts — relative to the pre-laying exodus foraging areas of male and female shearwaters in 89 known nesting locations and in a control group of 5 621 remaining islands in the Caribbean. For each location, the density of potential locations within the foraging radius of males (270 km) and females (270– 850 km) was calculated by geographic information system (GIS) analysis. Foraging sites for males tended to be more densely aggregated and those for females less densely aggregated when compared with the controls, but, for both, a correlation between the proximity of nesting locations and likely frontal regions was clear. These data indicate that nesting locations appear to be associated with predictable thermal fronts. This strategy improves the shearwaters’ access to food sources during the pre-laying exodus.”

Audubon's Shearwater

Reference:

Chatfield-Taylor, W. 2017. Caribbean Audubon’s Shearwaters Puffinus lherminieri choose nesting locations that improve male and female pre-laying exodus foraging strategies. Marine Ornithology 45: 103-106.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 4 May 2017

The Spanish Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and the Environment has imposed a fine of almost 5.3 million Euros on six companies and six natural persons involved in illegal fishing operations following raids on fishing companies in the provinces of A Coruña and Pontevedra in July 2015.  During the raids by the Ministry's inspection services documents were seized which were determined to have been aimed at concealing the ownership, management and operation of the fishing vessels Viking and Seabull 22.

Both these ships had been identified by international agencies such as the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) and the South East Atlantic Fisheries Organization (SEAFO) as vessels involved in Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing for Patagonian Toothfish Dissostichus eleginoides and other fish in the Atlantic using longlines and gill nets. The two vessels had been added to the European Union’s list of IUU vessels in 2010.

Seabull 22

Viking

IUU poachers in the Southern Ocean are thought to have caused considerable mortality of ACAP-listed albatrosses and petrels, as they are presumed not to bother to adopt mitigation measures, such as the deployment of bird-scaring lines.

The Ministry reports that “in order to obstruct the pursuit of their activities, in addition to using interposed companies of different nationalities, those responsible usually changed the name of the vessels”.  The two ships are no longer fishing: the Viking was sunk by Indonesian authorities off its coast last year (click here) and Seabull 22 was reported as having been scrapped in Cape Verde.

The Viking gets scuttled

“The sanctioning order also declares six natural persons linked to those companies responsible for several infractions for having maintained relations of diverse nature with these ships, prohibited by national, community and international regulations. The economic penalty applied to these six persons amounts to EUR 2.82 million. All these sanctions amount to a total of EUR 5,27 million, and they are added to sanctions for disqualification for fishing activities ranging from 5 to 14 years, and the prohibition to obtain subsidies and public aid in periods ranging between 5 and 12 years.  In addition, one of the individuals implicated is sanctioned for obstruction to the document inspection and destruction tasks, with a fine of EUR 60,000.”

“Community law prohibits nationals of Member States from granting any form of aid to IUU fishing or directly or indirectly benefiting from the activity of vessels included in the Community list of vessels of this type of activity fishery.”

Read more here and here.

With thanks to Mark Tasker.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 03 May 2017

The current President of the United States last week signed an executive order “Review of Designations under the Antiquities Act” that directs the Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke to review as many as 25 to 40 existing national monuments created by presidential executive order under the Antiquities Act of 1906 that have been created since 1 January 1996 and that span at least 100 000 acres (405 km² ) in size (click here). The Antiquities Act gives the President the authority, by presidential proclamation, to create national monuments from federal lands to protect significant natural, cultural or scientific features.  Click here for a list of the National Monuments affected.

The order calls on Ryan Zinke to consider “the requirements and original objectives” of the Antiquities Act, “including the Act’s requirement that reservations of land not exceed ‘the smallest area compatible with proper care and management of the objects to be protected.’ ”

The review will include examination of several large Marine Protected Areas, including Hawaii’s Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (PMNM), which President George W. Bush designated under the Antiquities Act in 2006 and which President Barack Obama quadrupled in size a decade later in August last year (click here).  The 1 508 870-km² PMNM supports large breeding populations of ACAP-listed Laysan Phoebastria immutabilis and Black-footed P. nigripes Albatrosses, as well as other seabirds, on such islands as Midway, Kure, Laysan, Lisianski and the French Frigate Shoals.

Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument: original and expanded areas

The executive order directs the Department of the Interior to provide an interim report to the President within 45 days and a final report to the President within 120 days of the order.  At a press briefing the Interior Secretary said “The executive order does not strip any monument of a designation [and] does not loosen any environmental or conservation regulation on any land or marine areas”.  He also stated that his report will come with recommendations to the President on “whether a monument should be rescinded, re-sized or modified”.  The enlargement of the PMNM by President Obama was opposed by the fishing industry, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (click here for its submission), many state legislators and two former governors of Hawaii (click here).

Black-footed and Laysan Albatrosses, photograph courtesy of the Kure Atoll Conservancy

ACAP Latest News will report on any changes to the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument that may be recommended or made as part of the Interior Secretary’s review of the USA’s recently created large national monuments.  The PMNM (at its 2006 size of 362 075 km²) was inscribed as a mixed natural and cultural site on the World Heritage List in 2010 in terms of the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (click here).

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 02 May 2017