The entangled juvenile mollymawk albatross.  A deflated blue and a partially inflated tan-coloured balloon are visible, along with blue and white plastic ribbons

 No Balloon Release Australia has reported an albatross found washed up dead at Dolphin Point, near Ulladulla, New South Wales, Australia on 25 December with two balloons and ribbons wound tightly around its legs.  The bird can be identified as a juvenile mollymawk Thalassarche sp. from its olive-brown bill colour.

Based on its predominantly dark underwings, the bird could either be a Black-browed T. melanophris or a Campbell T. impavida Albatross; the latter distinguished by its honey-coloured eye when adult from the dark brown eye of the Black-browed.  However, juveniles of both closely related species have dark brown eyes, which anyway are not visible in the photograph.  One online guide states that “juveniles of the two species are indistinguishable”.  Both species are regularly recorded in the waters off New South Wales.

At least five albatross species (including the Black-browed) and both giant petrels Macronectes sp. have been recorded killed by being entangled by or ingesting balloons and their attachments (click here).

With thanks to Karen Joynes, No Balloon Release Australia.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 30 December 2021

No gaff!  Patricio Ortiz-Soazo remotely lectures Chilean fishers on seabird bycatch mitigation measures, screen shot from Cristián Suazo

Cristián G. Suazo and Patricio Ortiz-Soazo of Albatross Task Force - Chile have produced two infographics in Spanish that illustrate seabirds at risk to bycatch to aid fishing captains in their required self-reporting via logbooks of the birds seen associating with their vessels during sets.  The “quick guides” (Guías rápidas) also illustrate mitigation measures for the demersal trawl fishery for South Pacific Hake Merluccius g. gayi and crustaceans, and for purse-seine fisheries for sardine, anchovy and the Chilean Jack Mackerel Trachurus murphyi in south-central Chile.

Mitigation measures for the demersal trawl fishery

Mitigation measures for the purse-seine fishery

 The two infographics have been made as part of a collaborative agreement signed in 2019 between ATF-Chile and the Association of Industrial Fisheries of Chile (Asociación de Industriales Pesqueros, ASIPES) and their associated companies.  The association consists of six purse-seine and two trawl companies with c. 6500 employees in one of the largest fishing regions in Chilean waters.

Cristián writes to ACAP Latest News:  "In the context of purse-seine fisheries this material was produced from fieldwork by ATF-Chile in collaboration with small-scale purse-seine associations in the ports of Talcahuano, Coronel, Queule and Valdivia, with the key support by Blumar Seafoods also including mitigation and best practices onboard for purse-seine crews. Besides, in demersal trawl fisheries, this information is part of the trials with ad hoc bird-scaring lines in the fishing areas of south-central Chile with the support of PacificBlu and Camancha Pesca Sur."

The quick guides are being made freely available in the form of printed booklets and posters to Chilean fishing captains and crews.  They are also currently being used as supplemental material for training in mitigation and best practices onboard, including the safe rescue and handling of albatrosses and other seabird species.  Workshops directed at fishers and fishing companies run remotely online due to pandemic restrictions commenced this month.

Seabirds at risk to bycatch illustrated in the guides include the globally Vulnerable Pink-footed Shearwater - endemic to Chile

It is considered that the guides could usefully be used by other Latin American countries that suffer from seabird bycatch in their fisheries, with an emphasis on the seabird species associated with the Humboldt Current System, such as the ACAP-listed Pink-footed Shearwater Ardenna creatopus.

Production of the “quick guide” infographics has been supported by the USA’s National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the UK’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

With thanks to Cristián G. Suazo.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 29 December 2020

Hawaiian Petrel

The Kauai Endangered Seabird Recovery Project (KESRP) is calling for a new Endangered Avian Research Project Coordinator to be responsible for research and management projects for the conservation and recovery of seabirds on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, including Newell’s Shearwater Puffinus newelli (Critically Endangered), Hawaiian Petrel Pterodroma sandwichensis (Endangered) and Band-rumped Storm Petrel Hydrobates castro (Least Concern).

The coordinator will implement and design seabird research to:

“1) identify nesting distribution across Kauai; 2) monitor breeding success and relative abundance at select colony sites on Kauai; 3) determine population demography and long-term population trends in Hawai‘i, and 4) investigate terrestrial and marine factors limiting endangered [= threatened] seabird populations in Hawai‘i.”

Primary physical qualifications for the position include ability to conduct fieldwork in rough terrain and thick vegetation, hike up to four miles (6.4 km) on rugged terrain under inclement weather conditions, camp in remote areas for up to a week at a time, backpack and lift and carry 30-40 pounds (14-18 kg), and be able to swim and get in and out of boats.

Deadline for applications is 13 January 2021.  The KESRP is a Hawaiian Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) project, administered through the Pacific Studies Co-operative Unit of the University of Hawaiʻi.

Read more on the position and how to apply here.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 28 December 2021

This beach-cast Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross contained a shoe sole in its stomach (click here)

Lauren Roman (CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia) and colleagues have reviewed open access in the journal Conservation Letters  plastic ingestion by marine megafauna, including albatrosses and petrels.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Pollution by plastic and other debris is a problem affecting the world's oceans and is increasing through time. The problem is so large that prioritizing solutions to effect meaningful change may seem overwhelming to the public and policy makers. Marine megafauna are known to mistakenly eat anthropogenic debris and die from consequent gastrointestinal blockages, perforations and malnutrition, as well as suffer sublethal impacts. We collated information on which specific items were ingested and responsible for causing death across 80 marine species, including cetaceans, pinnipeds, sea turtles, and seabirds. We evaluated which items were responsible for the highest mortality, and which, if reduced by policy responses or other means, could result in the largest reduction in debris mortality. A limited number of consumer items were shown to be responsible for most megafauna deaths. Flexible plastic is responsible for the largest proportion of debris deaths, primarily due to gastric obstructions. Disproportionately lethal items included plastic bags/sheets/packaging, rope/fishing nets, fishing tackle and balloons/latex. Smaller items, including “microplastics,” though abundant, were seldom implicated in mortality. We provide suggestions to directly curb debris deaths of marine megafauna by prioritizing policies that would reduce or eliminate the input of disproportionately hazardous items into the marine system.”

Read a popular account of the publication by its authors here.

Reference:

Roman, L., Schuyler, Q., Wilcox, C. & Hardesty, B.D. 2020.  Plastic pollution is killing marine megafauna, but how do we prioritize policies to reduce mortality?  Conservation Letters doi.org/10.1111/conl.12781doi.org/10.1111/conl.12781.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 25 December 2020