Northern Royal Albatross by ABUN artist Lenina Villela‎ for ACAP

Thirty-three chicks of the 2023/24 breeding season have left the mainland colony of globally Endangered and Nationally Vulnerable Northern Royal Albatrosses Diomedea sanfordi at Pukekura/Taiaroa Head near Dunedin, North Island, New Zealand, according to a Department of Conservation media release.

“Coastal Otago ranger Sharyn Broni said it was a fantastic breeding season, equalling last year for the most chicks successfully fledged in a season.”  Last year, when 33 chicks also fledged, was the then best breeding season; the previous highest number of chicks fledging was 30 in the 2020/2021 season.  The colony has grown from one breeding pair in 1937 to more than 60 pairs in 2024. (click here).  One chick died due to ingesting plastic regurgitated to it by a parent.

The 2023/2024 Royal Cam chick (named Kiwa) fledged on 23 September with a GLS (and colour band) fitted, photograph from Department of Conservation

“We’re also researching where the fledging toroa go with two types of trackers.  Global Location Sensors (GLS) were fitted to 20 fledglings, to record location data for three years. GLS tags record ambient light level to determine the birds’ approximate location. The data [are] stored so we will recover [them] from the tags when the birds return to the colony in four to ten years.  Global Positioning System tracking tags were fitted to another 10 fledglings, thanks to crowdfunding by the Royal Albatross Centre. These trackers are solar powered and give us accurate, real-time updates of the bird’s position for about a year.  Some of this year’s fledglings have almost made it to South America already.”

Recently fledged Northern Royal Albatrosses are now being tracked across the Pacific Ocean to South America

Read more here.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 01 November 2024

The 16th International Seabird Group Conference was held at the University of Coimbra in Coimbra, Portugal over 2-6 September 2024.

Several talks and posters on albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters were presented at the conference.  ACAP-listed species covered included the Vulnerable Wandering Albatross Diomedea exulans and Critically Endangered Balearic Shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus.

Balearic Shearwater, mixed media by ABUN artist Catarina Vitorino for ACAP, after a photograph by Pep Arcos

A paper in the Fisheries Session entitled :Trends, threats, knowledge gaps, and global political responsibility for the conservation of priority populations of albatrosses and large petrels” was presented by Richard Phillips of the British Antarctic Survey, co-authored by Paulo Catry, Maria Dias, Steffen Oppel, David Anderson, Christophe Barbraud, Karine Delord, Graeme Elliott, David Nicholls, Kath Walker, Ross Wanless, Henri Weimerskirch and Martin Beal considered Priority Populations identified by the Albatross and Petrel Agreement.

The presentation’s abstract follows:

“The Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) identified eight Priority Populations (PPs) of albatrosses and large petrels, each representing >10% of the global species total, and declining rapidly (>3% p.a.) mainly because of bycatch in fisheries. We assessed their trends, threats, knowledge gaps and key management needs. In all cases, recent count data indicated ongoing steep declines.  Bycatch was the major driver, although invasive predators or disease [were] also important for two PPs.  The key management action on land is therefore eradication of house mice on Gough Island.  As bycatch is the paramount threat, we used tracking data to determine global political responsibility for fisheries and other marine threats by identifying jurisdictions where most time is spent, year-round.  Six PPs spent more time in the High Seas than any [Exclusive] Economic Zone (EEZ), with one or more PPs spending >5% of time in the waters of four tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs), three non-tuna RFMOs, and [the] Commission for the Conservation of Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).  Other than the breeding range states, one or more PPs spent >5% of time in the EEZs of Chile, Australia, Namibia, South Africa and Peru.  Our results highlight the urgent conservation actions required for these flagship populations, emphasize the importance of coordinated efforts to minimise bycatch in EEZs and the High Seas, and provide compelling justification for states to prioritise management efforts in their own jurisdiction and to coordinate advocacy at international level.”

Abstracts of all the presentations are available online in the 245-page Conference Proceedings.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 31 October 2024

New Zealand’s Department of Conservation is seeking a Senior International Advisor to join its International Team.  

The position advertisement states:

• Support conservation through providing advice on the international context for conservation, and international agreements and collaboration
• Help our seabirds to thrive and protect them from threats throughout their ranges
• Develop your career alongside international treaty negotiation experts

Work with New Zealand's international partners to advance New Zealand's interests through the development of conservation policy and collaboration, whilst developing experience in international negotiations.

As a Senior International Advisor you'll have an important role in contributing to the advancement of conservation outcomes in Aotearoa, the Pacific region and across the globe. You'll be developing advice on the development on New Zealand's international conservation policy and commitments, and representing New Zealand in international fora, as required. In this role you will have a particular focus on developing advice on, and delivering, New Zealand's international seabird strategy to address fisheries threats to seabirds.

Working as part of a wider interagency team, you'll collaborate on the development and implementation of an ambitious international strategy focused on: influencing international policy and commitments; implementing international agreements and demonstrating leadership; and collaborating, sharing, and building conservation knowledge. You'll also have the opportunity to contribute to wider international engagement, including DOC's role in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.  You'll work closely with our key partners to support the delivery of the Government's international conservation obligations and priorities.”

Further information on the role and how to apply can be found on the Department of Conservation’s website.

Please contact Kate at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with any enquiries about the position.

Applications close at 11:59pm, Sunday 10 November 2024.

30 October 2024

A Manx Shearwater among flowers on Skomer, photograph by Chris Perrins

Patricia Serafini (Laboratório de Biomarcadores de Contaminação Aquática e Imunoquímica, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil) and colleagues have published in the Marine Pollution Bulletin on organic pollutants and plastic ingestion with Manx Shearwaters Puffinus puffinus.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Anthropogenic pollution poses a threat to marine conservation by causing chronic toxic effects. Seabirds have contact throughout their lives with pollutants like plastic, metals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and organochlorine pesticides such as hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs).  We assessed 155 Manx shearwaters (Puffinus puffinus) stranded along the Brazilian coast, analyzing associations between organic pollutants, plastic ingestion, biomarkers (transcript levels of aryl hydrocarbon receptor, cytochrome P450-1A-5 [CYP1A5], UDP-glucuronosyl-transferase [UGT1], estrogen receptor alpha-1 [ESR1], and heat shock protein-70 genes) and enzymes activity (ethoxy-resorufin O-deethylase and glutathione S-transferase [GST]).  Plastic debris was found in 29 % of the birds. The transcription of UGT1 and CYP1A5 was significantly associated with hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and PCBs levels.  ESR1 was associated with HCB and Mirex, and GST was associated with Drins and Mirex.  While organic pollutants affected shearwaters more than plastic ingestion, reducing plastic availability remains relevant as xenobiotics are also potentially adsorbed onto plastics.”

Reference:

Patricia P. Serafini, Bárbara P.H. Righetti, Ralph E.T. Vanstreels, Leandro Bugoni, Clei E. Piazza, Daína Lima, Jacó J. Mattos, Cristiane K.M. Kolesnikovas, Alice Pereira, Marcelo Maraschin, Isadora Piccinin, Tim Guilford, Luciana Gallo, Marcela M. Uhart, Rafael A. Lourenço, Afonso C.D. Bainy & Karim H. Lüchmann, 2024.  Biochemical and molecular biomarkers and their association with anthropogenic chemicals in wintering Manx shearwaters (Puffinus puffinus).  Marine Pollution Bulletin 203. 116398.

29 October 2024