A new bipartisan proposal to join ACAP is made in the USA to mark World Migratory Bird Day

Waved Albatrosses interact.  Courtesy of the American Bird Conservancy

Congressman Jared Huffman (D-one pagerCA) and Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) introduced the Albatross and Petrel Conservation Act and Migratory Bird Protection Act on 11 October 2024, to mark today's World Migratory Bird Day.  The joint media release by the two U.S. Representatives says “These bills will give the United States the tools to build upon existing efforts to protect migratory birds and the most threatened species of seabirds.

The media release continues “The Albatross and Petrel Conservation Act would implement the International Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP), protecting some of the most endangered seabirds on the planet from international fishing threats.  Thousands of albatrosses and petrels die each year due to fisheries operations as they come into contact longline fishing equipment during their migration to nest and find food. Although the United States has attended and contributed to ACAP meetings regularly since the Agreement’s signing in 2001, it has not yet joined the 13 member countries that have signed as parties.”

According to the American Bird Conservancy the two bipartisan bills will require implementation and adoption of the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatross and Petrels (ACAP) by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service and will reinforce protections for migratory birds and threatened seabird species, such as the ACAP-listed Waved Albatross Phoebastria irrorata (Critically Endangered) and the Pink-footed Shearwater Ardenna creatopus (Vulnerable).

This appears to be the fourth times a bipartisan effort has been made in the USA to become a Party to the Albatross and Petrel Agreement, with three previous attempts made in 2016, 2019 and 2021.

Read more in a "one-pager" and access the full text of the Albatross and Petrel Conservation Act of 2024  USA residents can support the USA’s Migratory Bird Protection Act and Albatross and Petrel Conservation Act from here.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 12 October 2024