‘Wandering Albatross’ by Leigh Wolfaardt

Leigh Wolfaardt is a South African artist and illustrator who lives close to nature and the ocean on a farm in the Western Cape Province.  A graduate of the University of Cape Town’s Michaelis School of Fine Art, she has lived for five years in the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)*, where she came face to face with – and painted – albatrosses for the first time (click here).  A summer research visit to South Georgia (Islas Georgias del Sur)* with her husband, Anton Wolfaardt (who Co-chairs ACAP’s Seabird Bycatch Working Group) brought her into contact with breeding Wandering Albatrosses on Albatross and Prion Islands.  She tells ACAP Latest News that she has a particular interest in the wild and spectacular environments of islands, finding these isolated havens great sources of inspiration for her art.

Leigh Wolfaardt in her studio

Leigh has previously written to ACAP Latest News in support of this week’s inaugural World Albatross Day: “Albatrosses are truly magnificent creatures, an absolute wonder and delight to observe in flight, gliding effortlessly above the waves.  They are a never-ending source of inspiration for my art.  World Albatross Day provides an important opportunity to promote awareness of these wonderful, but highly threatened, denizens of the oceans and skies.”

 Leigh carefully researches new artworks with the aid of field guides

She has now produced a new artwork illustrating aspects of the life cycle of the Wandering Albatross, from egg to chick to adults displaying on land and in their element at sea.  She describes her work: “To celebrate World Albatross Day on the 19th of June, I have just completed my study of one of the most awe-inspiring birds on this earth, the magnificent Wandering Albatross which has an impressive wingspan of up to three metres.  Watching them gliding effortlessly over the waves of the South Atlantic is a truly magical sight.”

Limited edition art prints sized 30 x 38 cm of 'Wandering Albatross' will soon (COVID-19 dependent) be available for online purchase.

With grateful thanks to Leigh Wolfaardt for her support of albatross conservation.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 15 June 2020

*A dispute exists between the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (Islas Georgias del Sur y Islas Sandwich del Sur) and the surrounding maritime areas

The National Audubon Society is the national partner of BirdLife International in the United States.  Founded in 1905, the National Audubon Society protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow, throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation. This mission is realized through coordinating the network activities of nearly 500 local chapters and 1.7 million members.

Through its Seabird Restoration Program, Audubon works to reverse the decline of seabird populations caused by the overfishing of prey, climate change and pollution by focusing on sustainable fisheries management, restoring, protecting and creating new seabird sanctuaries and marine protected areas, and by addressing declining populations.

Anna Weinstein, Director of Marine Conservation, National Audubon Society; photograph by Ewan Burns

Anna Weinstein, National Audubon Society’s Director of Marine Conservation, writes to ACAP Latest News:

“The National Audubon Society is looking forward to celebrating the very first World Albatross Day this year.  In my home state of California, our members cherish our three species of North Pacific albatrosses which ply our waters from the Aleutian Islands, throughout the U.S. West Coast, and into Baja California.  I am proud of the steps our fisheries managers have taken to reduce the bycatch of albatrosses, cease the use of destructive gear types, and help restore albatross breeding islands.

Now, our nation must join the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels in order to help protect the 31 magnificent species of ACAP-listed albatrosses and petrels around the world.”

With thanks to Rachel Guillory, Communications Manager, Coasts, National Audubon Society.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 14 June 2020

The Hawai‘i Wildlife Center (HWC), based on the ‘Big Island’ of Hawaii, is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting, conserving and aiding in the recovery of Hawai‘i’s native wildlife through hands-on treatment, research, training, science education and cultural programmes.  The HWC provides state-of-the-art care and rehabilitation to all species of native birds – including seabirds - and bats from throughout the Hawaiian Islands.  HWC started as a dream and desire to protect native animals and improve the available wildlife care and rehabilitation in Hawai‘i, especially since the islands contain one of the highest concentrations of threatened species anywhere in the world.  In addition to wildlife care, HWC provides professional wildlife rescue and response training throughout the Pacific region as well as undertaking public education and outreach programmes with local students and community members.

Linda Elliott, President and Director of the Hawai‘i Wildlife Center

Linda Elliott, President and Director of the H awai‘i Wildlife Center, writes to ACAP Latest News: “We operate with a staff of five and an ‘ohana [family] of volunteers statewide.  The animals we work with have both a local cultural importance as well as a profound global significance.  Hawai‘i holds a great deal of the world’s biodiversity in its islands and it is our hope that the work we do and the stories we share will play a role in preventing the extinction of more native Hawaiian species."

She continues: "I have been lucky to have been able to work hands-on with albatrosses before starting the Hawai‘i Wildlife Center.  My first encounter was with the ‘ginormous’ colony of Laysan and Black-footed Albatrosses on Midway Atoll.  I was brought over by the then USFWS Refuge Manager, Robert Shallenberger, to undertake training in oiled wildlife response and was immediately blown away by the density, sounds and beauty of the island’s albatrosses.  I even had the opportunity to glimpse a rare Short-tailed Albatross while there.  A mystery spill-oiled Laysan Albatross showed up, allowing for a fortuitous opportunity to demonstrate rescuing and rehabilitating an albatross in a remote location."

HWC Director Linda Elliott washes a Laysan Albatross Phoebastria immutabilis

A Laysan Albatross fledgling from a nearby island gets a check-up exam

A Black-footed Albatross Phoebastria nigripes under care, photographs by the Hawai‘i Wildlife Center

"All of us at the Hawai‘i Wildlife Center are excited to be a part of the World Albatross Day celebration this week.  We have cared for both Mōlī (Laysan Albatross) and Kaʻupu (Black-footed Albatross) at our facility in Kapa‘au, Hawai‘i.  Some patients required care for natural causes while others had been impacted by human activities in some way.  We hope that by sharing stories of the struggles and triumphs of albatrosses we can inspire more people to rally around conservation efforts to save these amazing birds!”

With thanks to Linda Elliott, Director & Rae Okawa, Development Coordinator, H awai‘i Wildlife Center.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 13 June 2020

The Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC) was co-founded in 1978 by former Executive Director Jim Barnes as a collaborative effort by conservation organizations from around the world to defend the integrity of Antarctic and Southern Ocean ecosystems from encroaching human activities.  ASOC’s stated mission is to protect the Antarctic and Southern Ocean’s unique and vulnerable ecosystems by providing the unified voice of the NGO community.  It is positioned to do this because of its official observer status within the Antarctic Treaty regime, granted in 1991.  ASOC sends delegations which contribute to annual Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings (ATCMs) and to meetings of the Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), where it presents a voice for protecting and preserving Antarctic species.

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, ASOC was deeply involved in efforts at CCAMLR to fight Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing for Patagonian Toothfish (known commercially as Chilean Sea Bass) and improve the regulation of legal fisheries in the Southern Ocean.  As part of these efforts, ASOC advocated for the introduction of mandatory seabird bycatch mitigation measures including adding weights to longlines, reducing use of lights during night fishing, implementing bird exclusion devices and bird-scaring lines and prohibiting the dumping of offal.  The introduction of these measures led to a sharp decrease in the thousands of incidental albatross and petrel mortalities that were occurring each year.  Today, compliance with the measures is consistent across licensed vessels and incidental mortality is near zero within the Southern Ocean, demonstrating that these measures are practical as well as effective.

ASOC works towards creating a network of marine reserves or marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Southern Ocean that will set aside areas representative of most major Antarctic marine habitats and ensuring a precautionary approach to the management of Southern Ocean fisheries.

Claire Christian, ASOC Executive Director, with a passing penguin

ASOC’s Secretariat is located in Washington, DC, USA.  Claire Christian, ASOC Executive Director writes to ACAP Latest News: “ASOC was proud to play a role in reducing accidental bycatch of albatrosses and petrels in the Southern Ocean through the introduction of highly effective mitigation measures, but these magnificent birds are still under threat elsewhere.  On World Albatross Day, we urge Regional Fisheries Management Organizations and governments to implement simple but proven solutions to ensure that these species can thrive for generations to come.”

With thanks to Claire Christian, Executive Director, Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 13 June 2020