Wandering Albatross at sea, photograph by Kirk Zufelt

Henri Weimerskirch (Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, Villiers en Bois, France) and colleagues have published in the journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America) on using Wandering Diomedea exulans and Amsterdam D. amsterdamensis albatrosses to identify the presence of fishing vessels.

The paper’s abstract follows

“With threats to nature becoming increasingly prominent, in order for biodiversity levels to persist, there is a critical need to improve implementation of conservation measures. In the oceans, the surveillance of fisheries is complex and inadequate, such that quantifying and locating nondeclared and illegal fisheries is persistently problematic.  Given that these activities dramatically impact oceanic ecosystems, through overexploitation of fish stocks and bycatch of threatened species, innovative ways to monitor the oceans are urgently required. Here, we describe a concept of “Ocean Sentinel” using animals equipped with state-of-the-art loggers which monitor fisheries in remote areas.  Albatrosses fitted with loggers detecting and locating the presence of vessels and transmitting the information immediately to authorities allowed an estimation of the proportion of nondeclared fishing vessels operating in national and international waters of the Southern Ocean.  We found that in international waters, more than one-third of vessels had no Automatic Identification System operating; in national Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs), this proportion was lower on average, but variable according to EEZ.  Ocean Sentinel was also able to provide unpreceded information on the attraction of seabirds to vessels, giving access to crucial information for risk-assessment plans of threatened species.  Attraction differed between species, age, and vessel activity. Fishing vessels attracted more birds than other vessels, and juveniles both encountered fewer vessels and showed a lower attraction to vessels than adults.  This study shows that the development of technologies offers the potential of implementing conservation policies by using wide-ranging seabirds to patrol oceans.”

Read a popular account of the study (and another here).

Reference:

Weimerskirch, H., Collet, J., Corbeau, A., Pajot, A., Hoarau, F., Marteau, C., Filippi, D. & Patrick, S.C. 2020.  Ocean sentinel albatrosses locate illegal vessels and provide the first estimate of the extent of nondeclared Ocean sentinel albatrosses locate illegal vessels and provide the first estimate of the extent of nondeclared fishing.  PNAS -Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America  doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1915499117.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 03 February 2020

Rosie Hall and Alex Dodds (new Albatross Zoological Field Assistant) with a Light-mantled Albatross Phoebetria palpebrata on its nest behind, photograph by Rosie Hall

Back in September last year, British Antarctic Survey’s Albatross Zoological Field Assistant Rosie Hall on Bird Island in the South Atlantic made a World Albatross Day banner out of an old mattress cover and took it out into the field to photograph in front of a Wandering Albatross Diomedea exulans chick (click here).  Problem is Wanderer chicks in September are largely covered in white down, so they do not stand out well against the snow that was blanketing the ground at the time.  However, last month, with no more snow on the ground, Rosie and her colleagues on the island displayed their banner next to some of the summer-breeding albatrosses for another round of photographs.

Alex Dodds with breeding Black-browed Albatrosses Thalassarche melanophris, photograph by Rosie Hall

Rachael Orben (Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon State University) and Rosie Hall with Black-browed Albatrosses, photograph by Freya Blockley

It is planned to use her photos, along with those from the other islands where WAD2020 banners have been photographed (click here) to make a poster which will be freely available for downloading from the WORLD ALBATROSS DAY section, accessible from this website’s home page.  The new section will be populated with photographs, artwork, species summaries, educational games and activities, posters and more over the next several weeks.

With thanks to Rosie Hall.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 04 February 2020

ACAP Latest News has been using its contacts to reach out to BirdLife International partners in ACAP Parties to request support for this year’s inauguration of World Albatross Day (‘WAD2020’) on 19 June.  Four national partners have so far responded positively (those of Australia, France, New Zealand and South Africa), to which can now be added the United Kingdom.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is the United Kingdom’s National Partner of BirdLife International and the country’s largest nature conservation charity with over a million members (and nearly 350 000 followers of its Facebook page).  The two bodies work closely together, including on marine issues.  In 2005, BirdLife International and the RSPB jointly launched the Albatross Task Force – the world’s first international team of seabird bycatch mitigation experts. The Albatross Task Force works closely with fishers and governments in key seabird bycatch hotspots to reduce the number of albatrosses killed in fisheries in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Namibia and South Africa.

Martin Harper, RSPB Director of Global Conservation, leads the NGO’s conservation strategy both nationally and internationally. He has written to ALN expressing the RSPB’s support for WAD2020: “The plight of albatross species has provided a stark reminder of human’s inability to live in harmony with the natural world.  Yet, the trans-continental conservation programme to drive the recovery of these iconic species serves as an inspiration of how we can protect and improve the natural world.  On World Albatross Day, let’s celebrate these amazing birds, remember the threats they are facing but be confident that by working together we can save them.”

Photograph of Juliet Vickery by Caroline Mead

Juliet Vickery, Head of International Research in the RSPB’s Centre for Conservation Science writes: “Albatrosses amaze in so many ways - riding ocean winds for hours without even a flap of their huge wings, living up to 50 years of age or more and some species mating for life - but they are severely threatened throughout our oceans and World Albatross Day should be a reminder to us all that these magnificent birds need conservation action now.”

Cleo Small is Head of the BirdLife International Marine Programme, which is hosted by the the RSPB (and is a member of ACAP’s Seabird Bycatch Working Group).  She writes: “Albatrosses face multiple threats both on land and out at sea.  World Albatross Day represents an excellent opportunity to draw attention to the issues we must address to protect these extraordinary birds, as well as the opportunities and challenges associated with each of these threats”.

Also writing in support is Rory Crawford, Bycatch Programme Manager, BirdLife International Marine Programme (based with the RSPB): “Perhaps I’m not the best qualified to talk about albatrosses.  I’ve only seen one (a Waved Albatross) and it was very far away.  But for a lot of people – most actually – we don’t need to lay our eyes on one to know the importance of preventing their extinction.  Given their extensive ranges and the myriad threats they face, if we can succeed in turning the tide for albatrosses, then there’s hope we can sort out more of the planet’s problems.  World Albatross Day is a chance to bring some attention to these birds as a symbol of that hope.”

Stephanie Prince, BirdLife International’s Marine Programme Manager at the RSPB, writes: “Albatrosses are such amazing creatures but are sadly facing many threats to their existence.  I’m delighted that this year will see the first World Albatross Day- an opportunity to celebrate and spread the word about these iconic birds.”

To end up, Nina da Rocha, who is Project Officer for the Albatross Task Force and serves as BirdLife International’s representative on ACAP's World Albatross Day Intersessional Group, has her say: “Albatrosses are truly amazing birds on so many different levels!  Sadly, they are in real trouble and facing a conservation crisis as the result of human activities.  The good news is that we already know what needs to be done to turn things around for them.  As we celebrate World Albatross Day for the first time, let’s come together as a global community and commit to working together to save these magnificent ocean wanderers!”

With such highly qualified and well-motivated individuals expressing their support, ACAP looks forward to a fruitful collaboration with the RSPB as WAD2020 approaches.

With thanks to Nina da Rocha, Albatross Task Force Project Officer, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 31 January 2020

UPDATE:  "After three weeks since it hatched on January 2, the downy chick appears healthy and is growing everyday while its cousins — the Laysan and Black-footed chicks — are still in hatching mode. The remote camera revealed that the chick is being fed by both George and Geraldine as they swapped their parental feeding and care taking duties three times during the last two weeks".  News from the Friends of Midway Atoll NWR.

Top: Short-tailed Albatross chick. Bottom: chick with adult Black-footed Albatrosses in the background. photographs by Jonathan Plissner

George and Geraldine, the globally Vulnerable Short-tailed Albatross or ‘Golden Gooney’ Phoebastria albatrus solitary pair on Midway Atoll’s Sand Island, hatched their latest egg on 2 January.  George had taken up the final incubation shift from Geraldine just four days earlier on 29 December; the egg is reported as being laid on 28 October (click here).  Both birds were first seen in the current breeding season on the same day of 23 October last year.  ACAP Latest News assumes they had arrived unnoticed earlier than this to allow for mating and the usual (for procellariiforms) egg-making ‘honeymoon’ trip or pre-laying exodus of around 10 days or more to sea by the female.

George with its recently hatched chick, photographs by V. Ternisian

Read what is known of George and Geraldine’s history and previous breeding attempts (they successfully fledged their first chick in the previous 2018/19 season) here.  Intriguing to note the synchrony of breeding between the two seasons, in 2018/19 their egg hatched on 3 January (although it should be noted hatching can be a lengthy process lasting more than a day, so the exact day of the chick finally leaving the shell may be difficult to record).

Meanwhile, Midway's other famous pair, 69-something Wisdom and mate Akeakamai, the Laysan Albatrosses P. immutabilis, are taking a 'gap year', having not laid an egg this season after being seen back together in Sand Island last November (click here).

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 10 January 2020, updated 30 January 2020