Southern Royal Albatrosses on Campbell Island; photograph by Kimberley Collins

Unlike some national schemes, the New Zealand's threat classification system uses a different categorization system to that used for global assessments by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and for birds by BirdLife International.  The latest bird threat classification report by the Department of Conservation (DOC) assesses 491 taxa that occur in New Zealand, including on its sub-Antarctic islands, showing that 25 species have improved in status whereas 22 have declined since the last assessment was undertaken five years earlier in 2016.  Changes in the status of albatrosses that breed in New Zealand are described in extracts from the report below.

“Observed declines in populations of southern royal albatross (Diomedea epomophora) [and], northern royal albatross (Diomedea sanfordi) … led to a worsened conservation status for each.  In the case of both albatross species, fisheries bycatch, which now mainly occurs outside Aotearoa New Zealand’s EEZ following improved national fisheries management within the EEZ, and storm events and/or droughts associated with climate change appear to have contributed to the observed declines. As a consequence, both species have been recategorized as At Risk – Nationally Vulnerable from At Risk - Naturally Uncommon.  Northern Royals are globally Endangered, Southern Royals Globally Vulnerable.

Light-mantled Albatross on Campbell Island; photograph by Paul Sagar

“Light-mantled sooty albatross (Phoebetria palpebrata) nests are difficult to count on cliffs and other steep terrain on remote subantarctic islands, but recent evidence shows a serious long-term reduction in chick counts in two southern cliff areas on Adams Island in the Auckland Islands.  Although the sample was small and from a single island, the panel considered that the conservation status warranted a shift from At Risk – Declining to Threatened – Nationally Vulnerable pending further population trend data.”  The species is categorized as globally Near Threatened.

Other changes for ACAP-listed species follow:

Southern Buller’s Albatross Thalassarche b. bulleri has been reassessed as At Risk- Declining rather than At Risk -Naturally Uncommon due to a recent drop in adult survivorship.  The species is categorized as globally Near Threatened.

“Campbell Island mollymawk (Thalassarche impavida) has ceased to decline and the population has been stable over the past 25 years, possibly due to reduced bycatch mortality as a result of improved fisheries practices in the Aotearoa New Zealand EEZ.  Consequently, it has been assessed as At Risk – Naturally Uncommon.”  The species is categorized as globally Vulnerable.

Read more here.

Reference:

Robertson, H.A., Karen A. Baird, K.A., Elliott, G.P., Hitchmough, R.A., McArthur, N.J., Makan, T.D., Miskelly, C.M., O’Donnell, C.F.J., Sagar, P.M., Scofield, R.P., Taylor, G.A. & Michel, P. 2021.  Conservation Status of Birds in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2021.  Wellington: Department of Conservation.  43 pp.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 06 January 2022

 
“Three Laysan Albatrosses”, graphite drawing by Lea Finke, after a photograph by Eric Vanderwerf

For the third year in a row, ACAP is collaborating with Artists and Biologists Unite for Nature (ABUN) to produce artworks in support of World Albatross Day on 19 June.  This year’s theme of “Climate Change” is featuring two albatross species that breed in the North Pacific, the Black-footed Phoebastria nigripes and the Laysan P. immutabilis. both considered to be at risk from sea level rise and increases in the number and severity of storms that result in flooding of nests (click here).

Lea Finke, wildlife artist

With ABUN Project #39 “ACAP - World Albatross Day 2022 Climate Change” running during this and next month, ACAP Latest News is pleased to feature here the very first artwork received, a graphite drawing by wildlife artist, Lea Finke, who resides in Bergkamen, Germany.  Lea has already painted all 21 albatross species for ABUN and ACAP as part of World Albatross Day 2020 with its theme of “Eradicating Island Pests”.

Laysan Albatrosses, Midway Atoll, April 2018; photograph by Eric Vanderwerf

In submitting her graphite drawing of three Laysan Albatrosses, Lea writes: “How nice that we have a new project with ACAP.  That is always a very nice collaboration.  Here comes my first contribution.”  Her drawing is after a photograph by Eric Vanderwerf, Director of Science of the Hawaii-based environmental NGO, Pacific Rim Conservation.

Read more about Lea Finke here.

With thanks to Lea Finke, Kitty Harvill, Marion Schön and Eric Vanderwerf.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 05 January 2022

The Westland Petrel Conservation Trust has reported on its Facebook page on the continued fallout of globally Endangered and nationally Naturally Uncommon Westland Petrels Procellaria westlandica fledging in November and December from their sole New Zealand breeding site at Punakaiki due to light pollution, despite street lights being switched off for the fledging season.

Westland Petrel fallout victim near Greymouth in the 2020 breeding season, photograph by Bruce Stuart-Menteath, Chair, Westland Petrel Conservation Trust

.“The Greymouth Evening Star article on 20 December about Westland petrel fallout reveals that greater efforts are needed to publicise the causes of the phenomenon.  Whilst there can be no doubt that turning off the streetlights through Punakaiki has resulted in a reduction of fallout casualties, to call this a "blackout" fails to acknowledge the many residential and commercial lights that remain a problem in the village, and at other fallout sites between Westport and Hokitika.  So far fallout numbers for Punakaiki, at 16, are about the same as last year, while those for Greymouth, at 9, are well below last year's 29.  The peak fledging period has long passed, but there will be a few more fallout cases to come yet.”

Access earlier ACAP Latest News posts on light pollution affecting Westland Petrels from here and here and listen to a radio interview on the “blackout” here.

World Migratory Bird Day for 2022 will have the theme of Light Pollution (click here).

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 04 January 2022

Black-footed Albatross by Eric Vanderwerf and Laysan Albatross by Laurie Smaglick Johnson

The Albatross and Petrel Agreement has chosen the theme “Climate Change” to mark the third World Albatross Day, to be celebrated on 19 June 2022.  This follows the inaugural theme “Eradicating Island Pests” in 2020 and “Ensuring Albatross-friendly Fisheries” last year.  ACAP is pleased to be able to work once more with Artists and Biologists Unite for Nature (ABUN) over January and February on its 39th Project (“World Albatross Day 2022 - Climate Change”) to produce artworks that will help increase awareness of the conservation plight facing the world’s albatrosses.

In support of World Albatross Day and its annual themes ACAP highlights one or more of the 22 albatross species each year with posters, infographics and artworks in ACAP’s three official languages of English, French and Spanish.  The featured species chosen for 2022 are two of the three species of albatrosses that breed in the North Pacific: the Black-footed Phoebastria nigripes and the Laysan P. immutabilis.  Both these Near Threatened albatrosses have most of their breeding populations on the low-lying atolls of the USA’s North-Western Hawaiian Islands.  These atolls - and their breeding seabirds - are all at risk from sea level rise and increases in the number and severity of storms that result in flooding, both considered a consequence of climate change.  Storm floods have even caused at least one small sandy islet to disappear into the sea, taking with it breeding sites for several thousand albatross pairs (click here).  Elsewhere in the island chain, as on Midway Atoll, storms have caused flooding of albatross nests and loss of chicks close to the shore.

This year for WAD2022, ACAP will be working with the Hawaii-based environmental NGO, Pacific Rim Conservation, to feature its ongoing project to create a new albatross colony safe from predicted sea level rise by translocating and hand-rearing Black-footed and Laysan Albatross chicks on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.  It is hoped ABUN’s artworks will help draw attention to this work.

With thanks to Kitty Harvill, ABUN Co-founder.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 03 January 2022