David Hyrenbach (Hawai'i Pacific University, Marine Science, Waimanalo, Hawaii USA) and colleagues have published in the latest issue of the open-access journal Marine Ornithology on plastic ingestion by Black-footed Albatrosses Phoebastria nigripes foraging to the west of the Hawaiian islands.

“We quantified the incidence (percentage of samples with plastic) and loads (mass, volume) of four plastic types (fragments, line, sheet, foam) ingested by Black-footed Albatross Phoebastria nigripes chicks raised on Kure Atoll, the westernmost Hawaiian colony. All 25 samples contained plastic, mostly in the form of foam and line. On average (± SD), boluses and stomachs contained 28.2 ± 14.3 g and 40.3 ± 29.0 g of plastic, respectively. Plastic was the dominant indigestible material in the boluses and the stomach samples, accounting for 48.8%-89.7% of the bolus mass (mean 67.4 ± 12.1%, median 67.5%, n = 20), and for 18.2%-94.1% of the stomach content mass (mean 70.0 ± 30.3%, median 75.6%, n = 5). Although the ingested plastic fragments ranged widely in size, most (92% in boluses, 91% in stomachs) were mesoplastics (5-25 mm), followed by macroplastics (>25 mm; 7% in boluses, 6% in stomachs), and microplastics (1-5 mm; 1% in boluses, 4% in stomachs). Yet the two fragment size distributions were significantly different, with more small-sized items (3-8 mm) in stomachs and with more large-sized items (46-72 mm) in boluses. To investigate where albatross parents collect this material, we tracked seven provisioning adults during 14 foraging trips using satellite-linked transmitters. The tracked birds foraged west of Kure Atoll (180-150°E, 30-40°N) and spent most of their time over pelagic waters (>2000 m deep; averaging 89 ± 9%), with substantial time over seamounts (averaging 11 ± 7%). Together, these results indicate that Black-footed Albatross chicks at Kure Atoll ingest plastics sourced by their parents foraging in waters of the western North Pacific. Provisioning adults forage within an area of surface convergence, downstream from the Kuroshio Current, and frequently visit seamounts northwest of the Hawaiian archipelago.”

Black-footed Albatross at sea, photograph by Vicki Miller

Reference:

Hyrenbach, K.D., Hester, M.M., Adams, J., Titmus, A.J., Michael, P., Wahl, T., Chang, C.-W., Marie, A. & Vanderlip, C. 2017. Plastic ingestion by Black-footed Albatross Phoebastria nigripes from Kure Atoll, Hawai'i: linking chick diet remains and parental at-sea foraging distributions. Marine Ornithology 45: 225-236.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 06 November 2017

ACAP held a one-day workshop on gadfly petrels of the genera Pterodroma and Pseudobulweria and other small petrels on 10 September in Wellington, New Zealand, prior to the 10th Meeting of its Advisory Committee (AC10).

The overall objective of the workshop was to advance understanding of the best approaches for international cooperation in the conservation of Pterodroma and other small burrowing petrel species and to prepare a report and recommendations for consideration at the Sixth Session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Agreement (MoP6), due to be held in South Africa in May 2018 (click here to access the workshop's agenda).

Globally Endangered Atlantic Petrel Pterodroma incerta - at risk to introduced House Mice on Gough Island, photograph by Graham Parker/Kalinka Rexer-Huber

The workshop opened with Karen Baird (New Zealand) presenting a commissioned review from BirdLife International entitled “Status, trends and conservation management needs of the Pterodroma and Pseudobulweria petrels” (click here to access the summary). The paper noted that gadfly petrels are a complex group of 39 extant species found in tropical and temperate regions. Many are single-island endemic breeders, often breeding in very remote and inaccessible areas. All are migratory, with records of at least one species in over 100 countries; and occurring as a breeder or resident in 44 countries; 26 species visit 10 or more countries. The review found that of the 39 species almost 67% are globally threatened by IUCN criteria with a further 10% Near Threatened. Fifty-eight per cent of species have a decreasing population trend, eight species have a single subpopulation and seven species have population sizes of less than 250 mature individuals. The review paper was followed by short presentations covering Pterodroma species occurring in the Americas, New Zealand and in Oceania.

Following discussion the workshop supported ACAP increasing its role in international conservation actions for gadfly petrels, and in future perhaps for shearwaters, storm petrels and the remainder of the Procellariiformes.  It was recognised that an increased role was constrained by resources and should be focused on those species that would gain most from international conservation action. Overall these smaller species (both gadfly petrels and others) are affected predominately by land-based threats as opposed to the sea-based threats faced predominantly by the current ACAP-listed species.

The Pterodroma Workshop report (AC10 Doc 14 Rev 1) considered that there is a case for a limited number of additions to ACAP’s Annex 1.  It also noted the need to include social science and sustainable development issues into the design and execution of invasive species eradication projects, especially on inhabited islands.

The report of the workshop was then considered by the Advisory Committee at its 10th Meeting. The recommendations endorsed by the Advisory Committee in regard to the outcomes of the Pterodroma Workshop were as follows as set out in its own report:

1. The Advisory Committee should revisit and complete a revised prioritisation process as soon as possible.

2. Based on this prioritisation and other considerations, Parties may wish to bring forward further species for consideration as additions to Annex 1 of ACAP; the Meeting of Parties might consider whether cases for addition should address the resource needs of such additions.

3. The Secretariat and Parties should improve links to existing international conservation efforts for land-based threats, particularly those working on eradication of invasive species.

4. Encourages the updating of, and possible additions to, ACAP Conservation Guidelines to ensure they adequately cover gadfly petrels and smaller Procellariiformes by the Working Groups.

5. The Population and Conservation Status Working Group and the Secretariat consider ways to improve the profile and uptake of the revised ACAP Conservation Guidelines to highlight that although they are focused on ACAP species, they also cover the smaller Procellariiformes.

6. Explore ways to increase contact with experts on smaller Procellariiformes.

The Committee agreed that the workshop report will form an annex to its own report to the 6th Session of ACAP’s Meeting of Parties, to be held in South Africa next year. It was also agreed that a contact group led by the UK and New Zealand should be established to continue discussions intersessionally regarding Pterodroma and other small burrowing petrels.

The workshop was chaired by Mark Tasker (UK) with John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer acting as rapporteur, with 30 attendees.

John Cooper. ACAP Information Officer, 03 November 2017

The Tenth Meeting of ACAP’s Advisory Committee (AC10) was held in Wellington, New Zealand, from 11 to 15 September 2017. The report of the meeting is now available online here. Meeting documents and information papers considered at the meeting are also online.

Some of the highlights of the meeting’s outcomes follow.

Chatham Albatross, a New Zealand endemic, breeding at The Snares, photograph by Matt Charteris

The Advisory Committee heard reports from the Convenors of meetings of its Population and Conservation (PaCSWG4) and Seabird Bycatch (SBWG8) Working Groups. Both reports are available online as meeting documents of AC10 (AC10 Doc 11 and AC10 Doc 13 Rev 1).

The population of the globally Vulnerable and national critical Antipodean Albatross Diomedea antipodensis of the nominate subspecies that breeds on New Zealand’s Antipodes Island was added to the list of ACAP priority populations for conservation management by the Advisory Committee, following a recommendation from the PaCSWG.

A breeding pair of Antipodean Albatrosses on Antipodes Island, photograph by Erica Sommer

The Advisory Committee took note of intentions by the United Kingdom to eradicate introduced House Mice Mus musculus on Gough Island in the South Atlantic in 2019 and by South Africa to eradicate mice on Marion Island in the southern Indian Ocean in 2020. At both islands mice attack and kill albatrosses and petrels as has been regularly reported in ACAP Latest News.

Following implementation issues with ACAP’s Small Grants Scheme and Secondment Programme that resulted in no grants or secondments being made in the last two years the Committee agreed that in the next call for applications, and until the end of the next triennium in 2021, the Small Grant Scheme and Secondment Programme will only accept applications/nominations from Parties. It was noted that it will be possible to call for applications following AC10 before the end of 2017; however, the final decision on funding outcomes will not be possible until after the 6th Session of the Meeting of the Parties (MoP6), due to be held next year (see below).

The committee appointed two new officials to help manage its Seabird Bycatch Working Group. Igor Debski (New Zealand) was ‘promoted’ to SBWG Co-Convenor (with Anton Wolfaardt of the UK, but domiciled in South Africa) from his previous position as Co-vice Convenor. Juan Pablo Seco Pon (Argentina) was then appointed as Co-vice Convenor with Sebastián Jiménez.

Offers by South Africa to host MoP6 from 7 to 11 May 2018 (AC10 Inf 14), at a location to be confirmed and by Brazil to hold the 11th Meeting of the Advisory Committee (AC11) in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina in 2019 were both warmly welcomed. Both countries have previously held ACAP meetings: Brazil hosted AC2 in 2006 and South Africa hosted AC4 in 2008, as well as holding the third and final ACAP negotiation meeting in Cape Town in 2001.

Lastly, the meeting considered the report of the Workshop on Pterodroma and other small petrels held prior to AC10. A separate ACAP Latest News item will summarize its conclusions.

French and Spanish language versions of the AC10 report will be available on this website soon.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 02 November 2017

Marguerite Tarzia (European Marine Conservation Officer, BirdLife International) and colleagues have published a report that summarizes four years of activities of BirdLife International’s Seabird Task Force which is centred in Europe. Work conducted by the task group has focused on gillnets and sea ducks in the Baltic Sea by Lithuania and in the Mediterranean by the Spanish Seabird Task Force on longliners and shearwaters, notably the ACAP-listed and globally Critically Endangered Balearic Puffinus mauretanicus).

Balearic Shearwater at sea

Information is also given for two other shearwater species considered endemic to the Mediterranean: Scopoli’s Calonectris diomedea (Least Concern) and globally Vulnerable Yelkouan P. yelkouan.

The Spanish Seabird Task Force had two main aims: understanding the bycatch problem in this region and developing and testing solutions to this issue alongside the fishing community. These were addressed through:

1. Making contacts with fishers and assessment of the fishery operating off Catalonia;

2. Placing observers aboard demersal longline vessels to assess the functioning of the fishery and the occurrence of bycatch;

3. Supplying self-reporting logbooks as a complementary method to understand the functioning of the fishery and the occurrence of bycatch, allowing for a wider coverage and focus on the artisanal fleet; and

4. Developing and testing mitigation measures, specifically the viability of using vertical long-lines.

“The Task Force work in Spain provided the opportunity to gain a fine-scale understanding of the seabird bycatch issue in the demersal longline fishery of Catalonia. This work has shown the high heterogeneity of the demersal longline fishery in the Western Mediterranean and enabled the team to gain a clearer understanding of the fishing fleet and its relative risk for seabird bycatch.”

Progress was achieved towards developing a prototype mitigation measure– the adaptation of the Chilean vertical longline- which shows real promise as part of a mitigation measure toolbox.

Read related information here.

With thanks to ‘Pep’ Arcos.

Reference:

Tarzia, M., Arcos, J.M., Cama, A., Cortés, V., Crawford, R., Morkūnas, J., Oppel, S., Rau-donikas, L., Tobella, C., Yates, O., 2017. Seabird Task Force 2014-2017. [BirdLife International]. 85 pp.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 01 November 2017