Alex Bond (Centre for Conservation Science, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Sandy, UK) and Jen Lavers have published in the journal Canadian Field-Naturalist on the occurrence of Flesh-footed Shearwaters Puffinus carneipes in the northern Pacific Ocean.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Flesh-footed Shearwaters (Puffinus carneipes) breed in Australia and New Zealand, but spend the non-breeding season in the north Pacific Ocean.  They are rare compared with most non-breeding pelagic seabirds that occur in the northeastern Pacific.  Recent surveys at breeding colonies have indicated a significant population decline since the 1970s.  We compiled records of Flesh-footed Shearwaters off the Pacific coast of Canada and Alaska from 1937 to 2013.  Flesh-footed Shearwaters were recorded from May to October, with most sightings in August and September.  Flocks of more than 20 birds have not been recorded since the 1940s, and most sightings have been of single birds, although some key areas (e.g., Goose Island Bank) have not been surveyed in recent years and previous surveys are confounded by fishing activity.  Given the significant population declines at breeding colonies, the conservation status of Flesh-footed Shearwaters should be revisited.”

Flesh-footed Shearwater at sea, photograph by Tim Reid

Reference:

Bond, A.L. & Lavers, J.L. 2015.  Flesh-footed Shearwaters (Puffinus carneipes) in the northeastern Pacific Ocean: summary and synthesis of records from Canada and Alaska.  Canadian Field-Naturalist 129: 263-267.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 06 November 2015

Desroches is a sandy 324-ha atoll in the outer Amirantes Group of the Seychelles in the western Indian Ocean, managed by the Islands Development Company and containing a five-star hotel from 2007 along with a conservation centre and a team from the Island Conservation Society (ICS).

On a recent visit this year James Russell of the University of Auckland surveyed the island’s Wedge-tailed Shearwater Puffinus pacificus colony with Gérard Rocamora and Pep Nogués of the ICS .  While counting occupied burrows the call of a Tropical Shearwater P. bailloni (Least Concern) was heard, allowing an incubating bird to be found and photographed.  This constitutes the first definite breeding record of the species for the Amirantes Group.

The Tropical Shearwater was previously considered synonymous with Audubon’s Shearwater Puffinus lherminieri.

Tropical Shearwater incubating on Desroches Atoll, photograph by Pep Nogues

Desroches supports Black Rats Rattus rattus and it is thought surprising that the shearwaters have commenced breeding in their presence, although local control of rats around the hotel complex at the western end of the island does take place.

James Russell considers that eradicating the rats “would be a great initiative for the new hotel owners to take in order to grow tourism and restoration on the island.  Until then, ongoing control of rats around both the eastern and western points of the island would guarantee the longevity of these shearwater colonies, one of the few native bird species on the island”.

Read more on the discovery here.

With thanks to James Russell for information.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 05 November 2015, updated 09 November 2015

The 11th Annual Scientific Committee Meeting of the South East Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (SEAFO) was held from 30 September to 09 October in Windhoek, Namibia.

The Agreement attended a SEAFO meeting for the first time, represented by Anton Wolfaardt, Convenor of ACAP’s Seabird Bycatch Working Group (click here).

Although the level of fishing effort within the SEAFO Convention Area is currently relatively low, the area is known to be important for a number of ACAP species.  In 2012 SEAFO adopted Conservation Measure 25/12 On Reducing Incidental By-catch of Seabirds in the SEAFO Convention Area which replaced a similar CM 15/09, which itself replaced a 2006 measure (click here).  CM 25/12 has been informed by ACAP best-practice advice, and applies both to demersal longline and trawl fishing.

Black-browed Albatross, photograph by Oli Yates 

The meeting considered a report regarding exploratory bottom fishing by Japan in 2014 in the area of the Discovery Seamount, during which three seabirds were incidentally caught, one Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophris and two Great Shearwaters Puffinus gravis. Following requirements in CM 25/12 the vessel was required to revert to fishing at night following capture of the third seabird, after which no more seabirds were reorted caught.

The SEAFO Scientific Committee noted that it would be useful for SEAFO and ACAP to develop a closer working relationship on issues of seabird bycatch and conservation, and recommended that the two Secretariats investigate how best to achieve this.

Click here for the meeting's official report.

Anton Wolfaardt, Convenor, ACAP Seabird Bycatch Working Group, 04 November 2015

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