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.

Welcome to the Pink-footed Shearwater: ACAP gets its 31st species in Tenerife

The Fifth Session of ACAP’s Meeting of Parties (MoP5) meeting in Tenerife, Spain, yesterday adopted an amendment to Annex 1 of the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels that includes the Pink-footed Shearwater Puffinus creatopus in the list of species covered.

The proposal was made by Chile, the sole breeding range state for the species, with support from Australia.  Several Parties then spoke in support of the species’ nomination, including range state Ecuador, as well as two other range states, Canada and the USA, who are attending MoP5 as observers.  The successful nomination follows a process initiated by ACAP’s Advisory Committee.

The Pink-footed Shearwater is included in Appendix I of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) and has a global category of threat of Vulnerable.

Pink-footed Shearwater, photograph by Peter Hodum

 

Range states express their delight at the inclusion of the Pink-footed Shearwater on ACAP's Annex 1.

From left: Marcelo Garcia (Chile), Roxana Galindo (Peru), Caroline Icaza Galarza (Ecuador), Mi Ae Kim & Stephen Wilger (USA) and Ken Morgan (Canada)

Photograph by John Cooper 

Both national and international efforts have been made to address conservation concerns regarding the new ACAP species, as set out in the North American Action Plan for the Conservation of the Pink-footed Shearwater (Puffinus creatopus), the National Plan for the Conservation of the Pink-footed Shearwater in Chile and the Recovery Strategy for the Short-tailed Albatross and the Pink-footed Shearwater in Canada.

Click here to access these documents and other news on how the Pink-footed Shearwater progressed to ACAP listing.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 07 May 2015

A photo gallery from Tenerife: who's who at ACAP's Meeting of Parties

ACAP’s Fifth Session of its Meeting of Parties in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain continued into its second day yesterday with the agenda filled with house-keeping matters: discussing finances, hearing and considering reports from the Secretariat and Advisory Committee and more.  For today's posting ACAP Latest News brings you a photo gallery of some of the attendees at MoP5.

  Sorted!  Florian Expert of France proudly displays his country's credentials letter

 

ACAP's next Party?  The USA's observer delegation gets serious: Mi Ae Kim and Stephen Wilger

Juan Pablo Seco Pon of the Secretariat's staff signals a welcome break

Warren Papworth (Executive Secretary) and Ian Angus (New Zealand) enjoy freshly-squeezed orange juice...

 ... with cookies

Attendees from southern Africa grin for the camera

  From left: Gcobane Popose (South Africa), Hannes Holtzhausen (Namibia), Johan de Goede, John Cooper, Azwianewi Makhado & Robert Crawford (all South Africa) 

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 06 May 2015

ACAP’s Fifth Session of its Meeting of Parties in Tenerife hears of two likely new Parties on its first day

ACAP’s Fifth Session of its Meeting of Parties in the Canaries on the island of Tenerife commenced yesterday with speeches of welcome on behalf of Spain as the host country by Mr Pablo Saavedra (Director General, Coastal and Marine Sustainability (Sostenibilidad de la Costa y del Mar,  Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente) and Dr Eduardo Balguerías (Director, Spanish Institute of Oceanography - Instituto Español de Oceanografía).  Director Pablo Saavedra noted that the protection of marine areas and adequate management is essential for reducing anthropogenic threats jeopardizing the conservation status of seabirds.  Dr Eduardo Balguerías recalled the early research on incidental seabird by-catch by fishing fleets operating in ​​CCAMLR jurisdiction, and the way it triggered an alarm on the real magnitude of this conservation problem. He noted that since then there has been great progress in conservation, especially in relation to the development of by-catch mitigation measures and the subsequent adoption of conservation and management measures by Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs).  

In their speeches they made mention of the Critically Endangered Balearic Shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus, endemic as a breeding bird to Spain’s Balaearic Islands and the most-recently listed ACAP species.  It was also noted that the Canary Islands support a number of breeding procellariiform species.

From left:  Marco Favero (Chair ACAP Advisory Committee), Pablo Saavedra (Director General, Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente), Eduardo Balguerías (Instituto Español de Oceanografía) and Warren Papworth (Executive Secretary) during the opening of MoP5

MoP5’s Spanish hosts smile for the camera

From left:  Pablo Saavedra, Juan José Areces and Maria Isabel López (Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente), Eduardo Balguerías (Instituto Español de Oceanografía), José Manuel (Pep) Arcos (BirdLife International/SEO) and Roberto Sarralde (Instituto Español de Oceanografía)

 Following a break, the meeting elected Mr Ricardo Losa Giménez (Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y de Cooperación, Spain) as its Chair.  Dr Marco Favero, Chair of ACAP’s Advisory Committee acted as the meeting’s Vice Chair.  Following several house-keeping matters the morning’s deliberations concentrated on a system for allowing observers from member economies to attend meetings, the budget for the next triennium and the scale of contributions that are made by Parties to the Agreement.

In the afternoon, the Session welcomed news from Namibia and the USA, present at MoP5 as observers, that progress was being achieved in both their respective countries to becoming Parties to the Agreement, with the possibility this might happen in the near future.

The day closed with Spain hosting the welcoming dinner in El Bulán, a local restaurant.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 05 May 2015, updated 06 May 2015

ACAP’s Fifth Session of its Meeting of Parties gets started in Tenerife with a Heads of Delegation meeting

With all 13 Parties to the Agreement attending the Fifth Session of its Meeting of Parties (MoP5) in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands there was a full house for the customary Heads of Delegation meeting that took place yesterday afternoon before the session proper gets underway today.

Before getting down to discussing the week's proceedings, it was an opportunity for greetings and introductions in the main salon of the Iberostar Grand Hotel Mencey, well set out by the session's Spanish hosts.

 

The Grand Hotel Mencey in Santa Cruz  

 Juan Pablo Seco Pon, ACAP South American News Correspondent, adjusts the welcome banner at the entrance to the meeting room

Heads of Delegation get acquainted... 

...and commence their meeting

Photographs by John Cooper

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 04 May 2015

Australia produces a guide to developing new seabird mitigation devices in trawl fisheries

The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) has released a new ‘Guide to developing new seabird mitigation devices in trawl fisheries’, which aims to make it easier for trawl operators to trial new seabird mitigation devices to reduce seabird interactions and improve operational efficiencies and crew safety.

Minimising interactions between seabirds and otter trawl fishing operations is recognised as a priority for AFMA and the fishing industry.  A recent AFMA’s report found that 600 mm warp deflectors (pinkies) reduce heavy interactions between seabirds and warp wires by 75%.

As a result, AFMA has implemented seabird management plans (SMPs) for all otter board trawl vessels operating in the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (SESSF). Each vessel’s SMP lists the AFMA approved seabird mitigation measures for that vessel, including the compulsory use of 600 mm diameter pinkies.

There is increasing interest from fishers in developing new mitigation devices or enhancing the current AFMA approved devices to improve operational efficiencies, crew safety and further reduce seabird interactions.  New or modified mitigation devices will need to be approved by AFMA for each SMP.  New or modified mitigation devices will need to be assessed to ensure they meet the required bycatch reduction target and maintain a safe working environment for crew.

The guide outlines the necessary steps to plan, develop, trial and implement a new seabird mitigation device in the SESSF otter board trawl fisheries.  A number of new seabird mitigation devices are currently undergoing at sea trials, including a bird baffler device and water jet sprayer booms and AFMA says that early results of the trials are promising.

Black-browed Albatrosses gather behind a trawler, photograph by Graham Parker

Click here for the new guide.

Above article reproduced from World Fishing & Aquaculture.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 03 May 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

ACAP Secretariat

119 Macquarie St
Hobart TAS 7000
Australia

Email: secretariat@acap.aq
Tel: +61 3 6165 6674