ACAP Latest News

Read about recent developments and findings in procellariiform science and conservation relevant to the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels in ACAP Latest News.

Contact the ACAP Communications Advisor if you wish to have your news featured.

Creating a new colony of Hawaiian Petrels by translocation at Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge on the Hawaiian island of Kauai

The United States Fish & Wildlife Service is this week to translocate up to 10 chicks of the Vulnerable Hawaiian Petrel or ‘Ua‘u  Pterodroma sandvicensis from its montane colonies into a fenced and predator-free site at Nihoku within the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.

The fenced area is also expected to offer a safe breeding site to ACAP-listed Laysan Albatrosses as well as to Wedge-tailed Puffinus pacificus and Endangered Newell's P. newelli Shearwaters.

Hawaiian Petrel

“The Service completed an environmental assessment (EA)  on Management Actions for Immediate Implementation to Reduce the Potential for Extirpation of ‘Ua‘u from Kaua‘i.  The Service has issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the EA (click here).  While this project will be the first translocation of chicks of listed seabirds on Kaua‘i and within Hawai‘i, translocation of closely related seabird species has been used with great success in New Zealand in order to create new colonies.  It is hoped that similar outcomes will be achieved on Kaua‘i.  This project will protect nesting ʻUaʻu from predation by non-native feral cats and rats, and now potentially mongooses [click here], a new introduced predator that may have become established on Kaua‘i”.

The Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge (KPNWR) was established in 1985 to preserve and enhance seabird nesting colonies.  In 1988 the refuge was expanded to include Crater Hill (Nihoku) and Mōkōlea Point.

The translocation project is being conducted in collaboration with the American Bird Conservancy, Kaua'i Endangered Seabird Recovery Project, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Pacific Rim Conservation and the State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Read more on the translocation exercise here.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 02 November 2015

An employment opportunity to work with BirdLife Marine Programme’s Seabird Tracking Database

BirdLife International is seeking to hire a Marine Technical Officer with expertise in GIS (and a familiarity of R) to assist with managing its Seabird Tracking Database, undertake analysis of data for varied regional projects, and provide technical inputs to submissions to a range of international agreements.

The successful applicant will work as part of the BirdLife Science team (based in Cambridge, UK in the new Cambridge Conservation Initiative Sir David Attenborough Building) and will have frequent contact with the wider BirdLife Marine Programme as well as the Information Management and Policy teams.

 

Black-browed Albatross on Marion Island, photograph by Genevieve Jones

“Contract duration: 9 month fixed term contract with potential to extend subject to funding availability”.  Closing date: 07 December 2015.  Read more here.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 01 November 2015

Separating Atlantic and Indian Yellow-nosed Albatrosses at sea

Bob Flood (St. Mary’s, Isles of Scilly) has published an illustrated account in the ornithological magazine Birding on identifying ACAP-listed Atlantic Yellow-nosed Thalassarche chlororhynchos and Indian Yellow-nosed T. carteri Albatrosses.

 

Full-page colour paintings by John Gales of birds in flight show various stages of both species from fledgling to adult.  Close-ups of birds on the water show diagnostic differences in head and bill between the two species as well as changes in age.

Reference:

Flood, R.L. 2015.  The 2 yellow-nosed albatrosses molt, age, and identification.  Birding 47(3): 31-41.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 31 October 2015

The Albatross and Petrel Agreement contributes to the World Seabird Conference

A goodly number of ACAP staffers and chief officers have been attending and contributing to the Second World Seabird Conference (WSC2) in Cape Town, South Africa this week.

As well as presenting a number of talks and a poster as listed by title and authors below, ACAP co-organized and led a session at WSC2 with the title “International Agreements and Seabird Conservation”.  The session’s theme follows:

“Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEA) such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Convention on Migratory Species, and the Agreement for the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels play key roles in defining national policy, legislation and targets for seabird and marine conservation.  Ensuring that appropriate legislation is in place to tackle the threats and pressures acting on seabird populations is therefore of vital importance if conservation gains are to be made.  The session will serve to demonstrate the main issues involved in trying to conserve seabirds on an international scale and aim to engage the wider seabird research community (especially those who have not been directly involved in the work of MEAs).  The session will showcase examples of success within conventions, illustrating the challenges faced, progress achieved to date, and encourage greater engagement of seabird researchers in the future.”

 

Mark Tasker (ACAP Advisory Committee Vice-Chair) & Marco Favero (ACAP Advisory Committee Chair and ACAP Executive Secretary Elect) confer at the podium before a session 

ACAP presentations at WSC2 with their lead authors

Cooper, John.  The Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels: a growing resource for information on procellariiform research and conservation (poster).

Favero, Marco.  Building a framework to prioritise conservation actions: the work of ACAP in facing land-based and at-sea threats to albatrosses and petrels.

Tasker, Mark.  Working with governments and international organisations – experience from ACAP.

Wolfaardt, Anton.  Bycatch issues – which agreements/conventions have a role to play.

Wolfaardt, Anton.  Seabird bycatch in small-scale fisheries: an ACAP (Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels) perspective.

 

ACAP's poster at WSC2

Click here to access abstracts of the above presentations.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 30 October 2015

South Africa shows the way at the Second World Seabird Conference in reducing seabird bycatch in longline and trawl fisheries

The Second World Seabird Conference (WSC2) is being held this week in Cape Town, South Africa with three sessions on seabird bycatch in fisheries, ranging from longline, trawl and nets and from recreational, artisanal to commercial.

No less than six presentations on mitigating seabird bycatch in longline and trawl fisheries were made by conference delegates from South Africa and Namibia to the three sessions (click here for the conference programme).  Their five presenters showed how university-supported research, NGO advocacy, governmental legislation and fisher willingness have been brought together to reduce the bycatch of albatrosses and petrels within the Benguela Current off the Atlantic coast of southern Africa by as much as 90%.  Over the last decade this has led to higher degrees, publications in scientific journals, national and international awards, many more seabirds surviving to wing the oceans, and an ongoing example for other fishing nations to follow.

 Bokamoso Lebepe of BirdLife South Africa gives a cheerful thumbs up after his presentation this week

 Samantha Petesersen receives an international award for her PhD thesis on bycatch in southern Africa

 Mitigation research and advocacy by Bronwyn Currie of BirdLife South Africa has been internationally recognized

Ross Wanless has received national awards for his leadership on seabird bycatch in Africa

Southern African presentations at WSC2

Lebepe, Bokamoso (BirdLife South Africa).  A review of seabird bycatch in three South African fisheries and the impact of monitoring and legislation for management.

Madden, Christine (BirdLife South Africa).  Bird Barriers:  a silver lining for seabirds in South Africa’s demersal trawl fishery.

Maree, Bronwyn (BirdLife South Africa).  99% there: seabird bycatch success story in a South African trawl fishery.

Naomab, Clemens (Namibia Nature Foundation).  Reducing seabird mortality in the Namibian demersal longline fishery.

Rollinson, Dominic (FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town).  Diving behaviour of Procellaria petrels and its relevance for mitigating longline bycatch.

Rollinson, Dominic (FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town).  Factors affecting seabird bycatch in the pelagic longline fishery off South Africa (poster). 

Click here for abstracts of the above five talks.

Significant South African publications on seabird bycatch

[Cooper, J., Petersen, S.L. & Ryan, P.G.] 2008.  South African National Plan of Action for Reducing the Incidental Catch of Seabirds in Longline Fisheries. Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism.  32 pp.

Maree, B.A., Wanless, R.M., Fairweather, T.P., Sullivan, B.J. & Yates, O. 2014.  Significant reductions in mortality of threatened seabirds in a South African trawl fishery.  Animal Conservation 17: 520-529.

Petersen, S.L., Honig, M.B., Ryan, P.G. & Underhill, L.G. 2009.  Seabird bycatch in the pelagic longline fishery off southern Africa.  African Journal of Marine Science 31: 191-204.

Petersen, S.L., Honig, M.B., Ryan, P.G., Underhill, L.G. & Goren, M. 2009.  Seabird bycatch in the demersal longline fishery off southern Africa.  African Journal of Marine Science 31: 205-214.

Watkins, B.P., Petersen, S.L. & Ryan, P.G. 2008.  Interactions between seabirds and deep-water hake trawl gear: an assessment of impacts in South African waters.  Animal Conservation 11: 247-254.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 29 October 2015

The Agreement on the
Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels

ACAP is a multilateral agreement which seeks to conserve listed albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters by coordinating international activity to mitigate known threats to their populations.

About ACAP

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Email: secretariat@acap.aq
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