“The 2017 Annual Meeting of the Pacific Seabird Group will be held at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center in downtown Tacoma, Washington, USA, 22-25 February 2017.  In keeping with the locale for the meeting, the theme is “Sound to Sea: Marine Birds Across the Seascape” and we are planning a robust scientific program, with a variety of technical sessions and symposia.

Tacoma is ideally situated along the shores of southern Puget Sound where you’ll find great places to run, hike, kayak, paddle board and, of course, birdwatch – Puget Sound is a nationally significant wintering area for a wide diversity of marine birds.  Boasting stunning natural surroundings, with Mount Rainier in full view, you can enjoy the mesmerizing outdoors just minutes from the downtown.

Tacoma’s downtown core has undergone significant urban renewal with growing food, music and artistic scenes.  Conference attendees will have easy access to museums, urban parks, fine dining, nightlife, microbreweries, and local coffee and tea shops.  Within walking distance of the conference hotel, attendees will find the Washington State History Museum, the Tacoma Art Museum, and the Tacoma Museum of Glass. A bit further away, you will find the Point Defiance Zoo located in the vast and beautiful Point Defiance Park.”

The Pacific region supports three breeding albatrosses: Black-footed, Laysan and Short-tailed,  seen here together on Kure Atoll

“As in past years, the PSG Annual Meeting will include invited and contributed papers, including plenary speakers.  We have four Special Paper Sessions and three symposium.  Contributed sessions include topics familiar to PSG members such as breeding biology, conservation biology, and tracking & distribution.”

Registration, abstract submission (deadline 28 November) and travel award applications are now open (click here).

John Cooper, ACAP Information Office, 14 October 2016

The 6th International Albatross and Petrel Conference (IAPC6) was held in Barcelona Catalonia, Spain, from 19-23 September 2016 in the historic Paranimf (Paranymph) of the University of Barcelona.  About 150 researchers from all over the World, including 50 MSc and PhD students, attended.  Among the delegates were ACAP's Science Officer and several members of its Advisory Committee and working groups.

IAPC6 attendees in Barcelona

Approximately 100 oral presentations were given and 51 posters displayed, with notably more offerings on studies on the smaller, burrowing procellariiforms (especially shearwaters) than during the previous five albatross and petrel conferences.  Heading each oral session was one of 12 keynote presentations and there were two poster sessions.

Hadoram Shirihai spoke on the discovery and rediscovery of six petrel species at the opening reception and Frank Zino closed the conference with an account on conserving the Endangered Zino’s Petrel Pterodroma madeira.  Awards were given to students to recognize excellence in oral and poster presentations at the closing ceremony.

Two different workshops took place before the Conference, entitled “Data Challenge on Behavioural Annotation” and “GLS data analysis: state of the art and future”.

With general agreement that IAPC6 under the Chair of Jacob González-Solís and his Local Organizing Committee was an enjoyable and well-organized meeting, thoughts will now start to turn to where (and when) next?  It seems that an offer to host an IAPC7 in four to five years’ time is likely to be welcomed by the procellariiform community.

Oral and poster presentations on ACAP-listed species and bycatch issues are given below by presenting author and title.  Click here to access the programme and abstracts booklet.  Videos of the opening and closing talks, keynote presentations and workshops may also be found on the IAPC6 website here.

ORAL PRESENTATIONS

Angel, A.  Tristan Albatrosses need more protection at sea

Arcos, J.M.  A new scenario for Mediterranean fisheries: where do seabirds fit?

Arcos, J.M.  Understanding episodic bycatch of shearwaters in the Western Mediterranean; the Seabird Task Force in Europe

Beck, J.  Sex, age and body condition of albatross caught as bycatch in Hawaiian (2010-2015) and Alaskan longline fisheries (2007, 2009-2014)

Boersch-Supan, P.H.  Unravelling physiological and ecological determinants of albatross chick growth and survival

Bond, A.L.  Integrated population modelling of Atlantic Yellownosed Albatross using long-term data

Bonnet-Lebrun, A-S.  Quantifying individual specialization through multidimensional niches: a case study of black-browed albatrosses

Boulinier, T.  Infectious diseases as a threat to albatrosses and petrels: from basic immuno-ecology to perspectives for conservation

Bourret, V.  Testing a vaccine against avian cholera in albatrosses: combining observational and experimental data in a remote seabird community

Bretagnolle, V.  A quick overview of the forthcoming “Albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters of the world: a handbook to their taxonomy, identification, ecology and conservation”

Carle, R.  First steps for mitigating bycatch of Pink-footed Shearwaters Ardenna creatopus: Identifying overlap of foraging areas and fisheries in Chile

Carneiro, A.P.B.  Sex differences in movements, distribution and habitat use of white-capped albatrosses from New Zealand during the nonbreeding period

Clay, T.A.  Finding your niche: the fitness consequences of early life movements and specialization in individual albatrosses

Collet, J.M.  Beyond chances of encounters: exploring bird decision making to understand the determinants of seabird-fisheries interactions

Cortés, V.  Seabird bycatch assessment and mitigation tests in the demersal longline fleet from the Western Mediterranean coast

Crossin, G.T.  Circumnavigations, spatial segregation, and activity of nonbreeding albatrosses, and their physiological correlates

Debski, I.  Prioritising research and management of at-sea threats to New Zealand seabirds

De Grissac, S.  Early life foraging: behavioural response of newly fledge albatrosses to environmental conditions

Desprez , M.  Linking demography and foraging behaviours in a long-lived seabird, the black-browed albatross

Fitzgerald, S.M.  Performance and challenges of electronic monitoring for fisheries monitoring and seabird bycatch

Fitzgerald, S.M.  Seabird bycatch monitoring, conservation achievements, and ongoing work in North Pacific groundfish fisheries

Gianuca, D.  Influence of fisheries, climate and environmental cycles on the survival and breeding success of giant petrels

Gianuca, D.  Seabird bycatch and adoption of bycatch mitigation measures in pelagic longline fisheries off southern Brazil

González-Solís, J.  Ban of discards will likely increase Mediterranean seabirds’ bycatch

Hansen, A.M.K.  Successful mitigation of impacts to Bonin petrel (Pterodroma hypoleuca) and Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) chicks during emergency maintenance work on Midway Atoll

Hodum, P.  Engaging local communities to advance seabird conservation:  lessons from a decade of community based projects

Kroeger, C.E.  Influence of corticosterone and foraging behaviour on patterns of mass gain in two sympatric albatross species

Krüger, L.  Tomorrow never knows: projected distributions of albatrosses, petrels and fisheries in response to changing climate in the Southern Ocean

López, V.  Advancing conservation of Pink-footed Shearwaters (Ardenna creatopus) through community outreach and education

Louzao, M.  Foraging in productive marine grounds when human activity comes into play: assessing sensitivity to longline bycatch in a critically endangered species [Balearic Shearwater]

McInnes, J.C.  Methods to assess albatross diet past, present, and future – assessing priorities across their range

McInnes, J.C.  A global assessment of black-browed and Campbell albatross diet using DNA techniques

Morandini, V.  Physiological conditions of parent and offspring Blackbrowed Albatrosses

Nishizawa, B.  Foraging behavior of Laysan albatrosses: feeding on floating dead squid during daytime

Orben, R.  North Pacific albatrosses use predictable moulting areas

Orben, R.A. Comparative flight behaviour of Hawaiian albatrosses

Oro, D.  What can research on albatrosses and shearwaters teach us about the population dynamics of long-lived organisms?

Pardo, D.  Demographic buffering in declining populations: can pre and non-breeders save the grey-headed albatross?

Parker, G.C.  Post-rat recovery? Population estimate of Grey Petrels on Campbell Island 14 years after rat eradication

Phillips, R.A.  Conservation research and management of albatrosses and large petrels: progress and priorities identified by ACAP

Ponchon, A.  At-sea activity patterns of black-browed albatrosses during the breeding and non-breeding season

Rexer-Huber, K.  Linking phylogenetics and tracking for conservation management of white-chinned petrels

Reyes-González, J.M.  Multi-year tracking of seabirds as a tool to develop adaptive management strategies: the case of

Suryan. R.M.  North Pacific albatrosses use predictable moulting areas

Thorne, L.H.  Effects of El Niño-driven changes in wind patterns on North Pacific albatrosses

Torres, L.G.  Comparative albatross movement analysis in space and time

Tuck, G.  Macquarie Island’s Giant Petrels and the impacts of the Pest Eradication Project on population abundance

Walker, K.J.  Antipodean wandering albatross population decline, skewed sex ratio & male-male pairings

Watanuki, Y.  Foraging behaviour of Laysan albatrosses: feeding on floating dead squid during daytime

Weimerskirch, H.  Life time foraging and link with fisheries in albatrosses

Welch, A.J.  New approaches to an old question: exploring the evolutionary history of albatrosses and petrels

Yates, O.  Preventing seabird bycatch: experiences from grass roots action and international collaboration

Zajková, Z.  Giant petrels: a textbook example of sexual segregation in birds

POSTERS

Afán, I.  Where to head? Investigating the role of wind and productivity patterns in driving the foraging destinations in a critically endangered seabird [Balearic Shearwater]

Barbosa, A.  A review of the parasites of Antarctic albatrosses and petrels

Dolliver, J.  Using satellite imagery to count nesting short-tailed albatross in the Senkaku Islands

Feliss, J.F.  Migratory routes and wintering areas of Pink-footed Shearwaters (Ardenna creatopus)

Feliu, P.  Procellariforms in the Iberian Seabird and Marine Mammal Monitoring Network (RAM): 8 years of study in Mediterranean Sea and Gulf of Cadiz [Balearic Shearwater]

García-Barcelona, S.  Importance of genetic analyses to identify the genre Puffinus: a massive catch event as a case study [Balearic Shearwater]

Krüger, L.  Connecting South America fisheries to Antarctica through individual spatial segregation on a seabird population [Southern Giant Petrel]

Morandini, V.  Factors affecting plasma chemistry values of the Black-Browed Albatross

Moré, E.  Are Southern Ocean albatrosses and petrels carriers of zoonotic Campylobacter?

Petersen, E.S.  Geographical concentration of trace elements on Southern Giant Petrel from Antarctica

Tan, L.  Relationship between foraging effort and breeding performance in a pelagic seabird [Balearic Shearwater]

Thompson, D.R.  Spatial segregation in New Zealand's two populations of Salvin's albatross: conservation implications

Vanerio, M.  Summer diet in the Southern Giant Petrel (Macronectes giganteus) from sub-Antarctic Chile

Waugh, S.M.  Filling blanks on the map: Where do Westland petrels feed and how does marine protection in New Zealand assist their conservation?

Waugh, S.M.  Seabird trophic level shifts from the 1920s to 2010s for shelf feeding endemic species in the New Zealand region

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 13 October 2016

Brian Douglas Bell QSM, FOSNZ, FRAO passed away peacefully on 1 October at his home in Marlborough on New Zealand’s South Island, surrounded by family and with views to his garden at the age of 86. 

From left: Skip Garner-Richards, Biz Bell, Brian Bell and Sue Bell (Brian's wife) bird-watching in Botswana

I first met Brian in Cambridge, UK at a Seabird Conservation Symposium arranged by the International Council for Bird Preservation (now BirdLife International) in August 1982.  At the symposium Brian, along with Chris Robertson, presented a paper on the conservation status of New Zealand’s seabirds, later published in the proceedings “Status and Conservation of the World’s Seabirds”.  I joined Brian along with other New Zealander attendees to listen to the New Zealand Youth Choir sing one evening in the chapel of King’s College, where we were staying.  Further meetings occurred with Brian at conservation and seabird conferences around the World and over the years.  Good memories indeed.

Throughout his career Brian was a pioneer and leader in species conservation, alien eradication and island restoration – at first in New Zealand with the Wildlife Branch of the Department of Internal Affairs (later the Wildlife Service) between 1957 and 1987, ending as Officer-in-Charge of the Protected Fauna Division directing endangered species recovery management programmes.  He was involved with bringing the Critically Endangered Chatham Island Black Robin Petroica traversi back from the edge of extinction, as well as helping pioneer the translocation of burrowing petrels and the eradication of rodents on New Zealand islands.  “Among the many island pest eradication programmes he was involved in were the removals of cats from Te Hauturu-o-Toi /Little Barrier Island, goats from Macauley Island in the Kermadecs, and weka and possums from Whenua Hou/Codfish Island” (click here).

In 1992 Brian established an ecological consultancy, Wildlife Management International Ltd (WML) and “took his decades of expertise and techniques in predator eradication, translocation and endangered native species and habitat restoration to the rest of the world” (click here).

Among his awards Brian received New Zealand’s Queen’s Service Medal in the 1984 Queen's Birthday Honours, awarded to recognise and reward volunteer service to the community and also public service in elected or appointed public office.  He was President of the Ornithological Society of New Zealand twice between 1972 and 1995.

WML is now ably run by his son, Mike Bell and daughter, Elizabeth ‘Biz’ Bell, continuing to rid islands around the World of their alien cats and rats, and working with threatened albatrosses and petrels, notably on the Chatham Islands translocating Chatham Albatross Diomedea eremita chicks and on Great Barrier Island with the Black Petrel Procellaria parkinsoni, both ACAP-listed species.  Through his family Brian’s life's work will continue as a living memorial.  What better way to be honoured and remembered?

Brian Bell is survived by his wife, Sue, his nine children and 14 grandchildren, to whom ACAP expresses its sympathies.

Reference:

Robertson, C.J.R. & Bell, B.D. 1984.  Seabird status and conservation in the New Zealand.  In: Croxall, J.P., Evans, P.G.H. & Schreiber, R.W. (Eds).  Status and Conservation of the World’s Seabirds.  International Council for Bird Preservation Technical Publication No. 2.  pp. 573-586.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 12 October 2016

The12th Meeting of the Working Party on Ecosystems and Bycatch (WPEB12) of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) was held in Victoria, Mahé, Seychelles from 12-16 September.

The Albatross and Petrel Agreement was represented by Anton Wolfaardt, Convenor of its Seabird Bycatch Working Group.  The meeting considered a number of seabird-related papers, two of which were submitted by ACAP.  One of these papers (IOTC-2016-WPEB12-34, ACAP advice for reducing the impact of pelagic longline fishing operations on seabirds) by Anton Wolfaardt, Marco Favero and Nathan Walker summarised the latest ACAP best-practice advice for reducing seabird bycatch associated with pelagic longline fisheries.  ACAP’s advice was updated most recently at the Ninth Meeting of its Advisory Committee (AC9) in May 2016 to modify the recommended line-weighting specifications, and to include in the list of best-practice mitigation measures two hook-shielding devices.  These two devices encase the point and barb of baited hooks until a prescribed depth or immersion time has been reached, thus reducing the likelihood of seabirds becoming hooked.

The WPEB supported both aspects of the updated ACAP best-practice advice, and recommended that when the IOTC Seabird Conservation and Management Measure (Resolution 12/06 On reducing the incidental bycatch of seabirds in longline fisheries) is next reviewed, the line-weighting specifications be updated to conform with the latest ACAP advice.  It further recommended that the two hook-shielding devices recommended by ACAP be incorporated as additional mitigation options.  This recommendation by the WPEB will be further discussed and considered by the IOTC Scientific Committee, at its 19th Meeting to be held from 1-5 December this year in the Seychelles.

 

Click here to access the official report of WPEB12

Anton Wolfaardt, Convenor, ACAP Seabird Bycatch Working Group, 11 October 2016