Both the final-phase and intermediate-phase plumaged Short-tailed Albatrosses Phoebastria albatrus that make up a female-female pair have been sighted at their nest site near the west end of Green Island, Kure Atoll in the North Pacific this season.  They were first reported with two eggs in their nest, but one was later displaced.

The banded female-female pair has laid two eggs on Kure each year since 2010 (click here), although none has ever hatched, so the eggs are presumed to be unfertilized.

Other Short-tailed Albatrosses are occasionally seen on Kure (click here).  Decoys have now been placed near the nest site with the hope of attracting more birds to the atoll.

The intermediate-plumaged of the pair with an overlooking decoy

Five decoys in a displaying position, with the female-female pair in the background

The adult-plumaged bird looks at a decoy, with five more in the background, along with Black-footed and Laysan Albatrosses

Photographs by the Kure Atoll Conservancy

With thanks to the Kure Atoll Conservancy.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 24 November 2014

Philippa Wallace has been awarded her Doctor of Philosophy in Law by The University of Waikato for a study of how New Zealand domestic and international conservation law affects the nation’s threatened birds.  Her thesis considers in detail the ACAP-listed and both nationally and globally Vulnerable Black Petrel Procellaria parkinsoni and the Sooty Shearwater Puffinus griseus in two of the six case studies covered.

Chapter Six of the thesis “Distribution of benefit and harm to species through law and planning in New Zealand - international obligations” inter alia considers the role of the Albatross and Petrel Agreement in helping conserve New Zealand’s Black Petrel.

Black Petrel at sea, photograph by Biz Bell

The abstract of the PhD thesis follows:

“Endemic birds in New Zealand are under threat, and increasingly so, as human activity reshapes the land, reconstitutes the water, consumes space and resources and alters faunal composition.  The decline of biodiversity is a pressing concern globally and the unique nature of the endemic fauna of New Zealand provides impetus for concern.

Examination of the state of birds and analysis of the response of New Zealand law to the agents of decline is the key contribution of this research.  The substance and operation of New Zealand law is examined to determine its influence upon the distribution of benefit and burden to New Zealand birds.  Six case study birds: the black petrel, dotterel, kokako, godwit, sooty shearwater, and the wrybill are studied to elucidate these matters.

In examining distribution of harm and benefit, a particular focus of the research is upon the degree of care that is applied to protecting birds through the law and related planning instruments.  By assessing the principles, criteria and methods applied to protecting birds, the research identifies that an objective of avoidance of harm to indigenous Threatened or At Risk species, their habitats, and ecosystems upon which they depend, will benefit birds.  It concludes that conservation status, as opposed to habitat or sectoral dispensation, is an important determinant for application of the standard, as this provides the most consistently protective approach.  In addition, it is demonstrated that where uncertainty or ignorance arises as to existence or level of harm, the use of precaution and giving the benefit of the doubt to nature is important for enhancing protection.

New Zealand conservation law is analysed at the international level in conjunction with species and habitat protection at the domestic level.  International agreements, the Wildlife Act 1953, the Conservation Act 1987, the Resource Management Act 1991 and related policy and plans are examined.  Although at times strongly beneficial, the research concludes that the arrangements made by the law are wanting.  An important contribution of the research is to demonstrate the deficiencies, which can be separated into three classes: the problem of standard, the problem of consistency and integration, and the problem of implementation.

These problems constrain the protective force of the law.  Fragmentation and lack of a strong and consistent protective standard limit protection of birds against competing social, economic and cultural factors.  The law requires revision.  Species protection calls for particular attention.  The Wildlife Act 1953 maintains a standard of absolute protection of birds, but the research demonstrates the many ways in which this standard is compromised.  Greater strategic planning and integration is required, particularly with regard to human development.  Interrelationships between the statutes, including that between the Wildlife Act 1953 and the RMA 1991, require addressing.  Inadequate implementation of existing law compounds these matters, and the research identifies a range of aspects where gains for species could be made.  It concludes with a series of recommendations directed at the identified problems.”

Reference:

Wallace, P.J. 2014.  Boundaries of Absolute Protection: Distribution of Benefit and Harm to Birds through Law and Planning in New Zealand.  PhD Thesis, The University of Waikato.  528 pp.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 23 November 2014

Wake Atoll (739 ha) is made up of three low coral islands: Wake Wilkes and Peale, lying around a central lagoon.  Wake and Wilkes are connected by a causeway.  The atoll is situated within Micronesia in the Northern Pacific Ocean a little north of the Marshall Islands and is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the USA.

Wake Atoll

Although Wake Atoll is managed by the USA’s Department of Defense it falls within the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument that was declared in 2009. From this year an expanded monument includes the 200-nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) around the atoll within which commercial fishing is not allowed (click here).  Wake is the only inhabited island in the atoll and has an airfield.

Wake Atoll lies towards the edge of the current breeding range of the Laysan Albatross Phoebastria immutabilis.  A few pairs of Laysans have attempted breeding on the atoll in recent years.  The first definite breeding record was in 1996 following sightings in the 1980s.  A chick fledged in 2001 and there were three failed attempts in 2008.  Another chick, the last recorded, successfully fledged in 2009.  A Laysan Albatross laid an egg in November 2013 below an introduced Ironwood Casuarina equifolia tree that was incubated for two weeks before failing.  A second egg found in 2013 was also abandoned.

A Laysan Albatross chick that successfully fledged from Wake Atoll, photograph by R. Wheeler 

Black-footed Albatrosses P. nigripes visit Wake in small numbers.  Successful breeding has not been reported although eggs have been recorded occasionally since 1996 and up to at least 2003 when three pairs attempted breeding.

Feral Domestic Cats Felis catus originally brought to the atoll as pets killed many birds (estimated as 30 000 a year) in the past on Wake but have now been successfully eradicated from all three islands.   A shooting and trapping campaign in the first decade of the century removed 170 animals.  An eradication attempt in 2012 was successful in removing the Asian Ship Rat Rattus tanezumi but not the Pacific Rat R. exulans, although uninhabited Peale Island remains rat free.  Wilkes Island is operated as a Bird Sanctuary and is closed to visits without permission from island managers.  It supports most of the atoll’s breeding seabirds, including Wedge-tailed Shearwaters Puffinus pacificus, now increasing in numbers after the eradication of cats.

With thanks to Mike Rauzon for information.

Selected Literature:

Hebshi, A., Kesler, D. & Zabin, C. 2011.  Project Final Report for Legacy Resource Management Program Project Number: 09-438 Ecological Monitoring on Wake Island Prior to Rat Removal.  Department of Defense Legacy Resource Management Program.  84 pp.

Rauzon, M.[J.] 2014.  Conservation of Indigenous Birds on Wake Atoll.  Department of Defense Legacy Program.  2 pp.

Rauzon, M.J., Boyle, D., Everett, W.T. & Gilardi, J. 2008.  The status of the birds of Wake Atoll.  Atoll Research Bulletin No. 561.  41 pp.

Rauzon, M.J, Everett, W.T., Boyle, D., Bell, L. & Gilardi, J.  2008.  Eradication of feral cats at Wake Atoll.  Atoll Research Bulletin No. 560.  21 pp.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 22 November, 2014

The Fifth Session of the Meeting of the Parties (MoP5) to the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) will be held at the Iberostar Grand Hotel Mencey in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain from 4 – 8 May 2015.

Key dates for MoP5

5 Dec 2014:  Submission of proposed amendments to the Agreement.

2 Jan 2015:  The Advisory Committee’s report on progress with implementation of the Agreement circulated to Parties.

The Advisory Committee’s report on its activities circulated to Parties

3 Feb 2015:  Submission date for meeting documents requiring translation.

Submission date for applications from observers representing international organisations.

4 Mar 2015:  Parties’ comments on proposals to amend the Agreement or its Annexes submitted to Secretariat.

Meeting working documents distributed in the three official languages.

Submission date for information papers.

5 May 2015:  Final date for official credentials to be submitted by Parties’ Representatives to the Secretariat.

A satellite-tagged Balearic Shearwater: ACAP-listed and endemic to Spain's Balearic Islands

Photograph by Henri Weimerskirch

Observer Applications

Written applications for observer status from international scientific, environmental, cultural or technical bodies should be submitted to the Secretariat at least 90 days prior to the MoP5 (3 February 2015).  Requests for observer status from any other scientific, environmental, cultural or technical bodies should be submitted to the Secretariat at least 60 days prior to the meeting (4 March 2015).

Registration

Delegates are requested to complete the registration form available on the ACAP website and to send itThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. as soon as possible, to assist the Secretariat in making preparations for the meeting.

Provisional Agenda

In accordance with the requirements of MoP Rule of Procedure 14(3), Parties are requested to forward any additional agenda items to the Secretariat prior to the opening of the first session of MoP5, for inclusion in a supplementary provisional agenda.

Accommodation

A block booking of 45 rooms has been made with the Grand Hotel Mencey from 3 - 9 May, 2015.  These rooms will be held until 3 March 2015.  After this date any reservation made will be subject to availability at the hotel and the best available room rate at the time the reservation is made.   Delegates wishing to make a reservation should complete the attached registration form and return it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  Please do not make your reservations directly through the hotel website.

Warren Papworth, ACAP Executive Secretary, 21 November 2014