Archived News

The report of ACAP’s Seventh Meeting of its Advisory Committee is now available (click here).

The meeting was held in La Rochelle, France over the period 6-10 May 2013.  The meeting was chaired by Dr Marco Favero (Argentina) with support from Vice-Chair Mark Tasker (UK) and was attended by ACAP’s Executive Secretary, Warren Papworth and Science Officer, Wiesława Misiak.  The meeting commenced with a welcoming address by Pascal Bolot, Prefect for Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises (TAAF).

Twelve of the 13 ACAP Parties were represented: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, France, New Zealand, Peru, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom and Uruguay.  Range States Canada and USA participated as observers.  The CMS Secretariat, BirdLife International, Chinese Wild Bird Federation, Humane Society International. Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux, Medmaravis and WWF also attended as Observers.

In discussing how best to engage with prospective new Parties the meeting identified three breeding range states (Japan, Mexico and the USA) and two domestic fishing nations (Angola and Namibia) as well as several high-seas fishing nations, as priorities for approach.

Chile proposed adding the Pink-footed Shearwater Puffinus creatopus to Annex 1 of the Agreement (AC7 Doc. 24), with support forthcoming from Canada and the USA.  This proposal had met with strong support from two working groups of the Advisory Committee that had met before the meeting. The committee also considered a proposal by Ecuador to nominate the Galapagos Petrel Pterodroma phaeopygia (AC7 Doc. 25).

Medmaravis with BirdLife International submitted a paper (AC7 Inf. 04) which provided information on two potential candidate species for listing within the Agreement: Yelkouan Shearwater P. yelkouan and Scopoli’s Shearwater Calonectris diomedea.

Pink-footed shearwater: the next ACAP species?

Photograph by Peter Hodum

Uruguay offered to host the Eighth Meeting of the Advisory Committee (AC8), and advised that it would likely take place in late August or early September 2014.

Click here to access the meeting’s Documents (including the agenda) and Information Papers.

The meeting was preceded by meetings of two of its working groups, for which final reports and tabled papers are also now available on-line: Seabird Bycatch (SBWG) and Population and Conservation Status (PaCSWG).  The Advisory Committee considered both reports taking note of and accepting a number of their recommendations.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 12 June 2013