France has announced the creation of a very large Marine Protected Area (MPA) around its sub-Antarctic islands in the southern Indian Ocean.  The new MPA will give added formal protection to the ACAP-listed albatrosses and petrels that forage within it, especially those that breed on the Crozet, Kerguelen, Saint Paul and Amsterdam Islands that the MPA surrounds. At over 1.66 million km² in area, it is larger than the 1.55 million-km² Ross Sea MPA, due to come into force in December this year, and is now the World’s largest MPA.

Following on from existing MPAs around Australia’s Heard and McDonald Islands and South Africa’s Prince Edward Islands, all the sub-Antarctic island groups in the southern Indian Ocean are now surrounded by MPAs, totalling over 1.81 million km².

The new French Marine Protected Area around its sub-Antarctic islands

A translation of the original press announcement follows:

“The order instituting a protection perimeter around the French Southern Territories' National Nature Reserve, signed by Prefect Cécile Pozzo di Borgo, Senior Administrator of the Terres australes et antarctiques françaises (TAAF), on 31 March [2017] marks the creation of the largest Marine Protected Area in the World.

At [a meeting of] the Consultative Committee for the French Southern Territories National Nature Reserve on 15 December 2016, which enabled the nature reserve to be set up with its new perimeter [with an area] of more than 672 000 km², the Minister of the l’Environnement, de l’Energie et de la Mer, Mme Segolene Royal, asked the Prefect, a TAAF Senior Administrator, to consider ways of creating a protection perimeter around the nature reserve.

In response to this request and following various consultations from 24 February to 24 March 2017, Prefect Pozzo di Borgo adopted on 31 March Decree 2017-28 establishing a protection perimeter around the nature reserve (click here).

This perimeter is established beyond the limits of the marine part of the French Southern Territories National Nature Reserve, to the outer limits of the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of the Crozet, Kerguelen, Saint Paul and Amsterdam Islands. The total protected area, which includes the area of the nature reserve and that of the protection perimeter, covers an area of 1 662 766 km², or nearly 15% of the French EEZ.

The order instituting the protection perimeter provides that the provisions of Decree No. 2006-1211, as amended, establishing and extending the French Southern Territories National Nature Reserve relating to reserve management bodies and those relating to environmental regulations and the management of fisheries within the marine part of the reserve, apply to the outer limits of the Southern French EEZs.

It also encourages the development of programmes to improve knowledge of the marine environment, and positions France as a key player in the development and implementation of a concerted strategy for the creation and establishment of a network of MPAs in the international waters of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).

The signing of this decree gives rise to the largest marine Protected Area in the World, a national ambition formulated more than a year ago by Minister Segolene Royal in the sidelines of COP21 [2015 Paris Climate Conference] and reaffirmed on numerous occasions since then.”

In September 2008 France designated a very large Ramsar Wetland Site of International Importance (2 270 000 ha) that includes marine components ("rocky shores, estuaries and fjords") at its islands in the southern Indian Ocean (Amsterdam, Saint Paul, Crozets and Kerguelen).

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 24 April 2017

Subir Sarker (Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Microbiology, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia) and colleagues have published open access in the journal BMC Genomics on the genome of avian pox virus from two species of shearwaters.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Background: Over the past 20 years, many marine seabird populations have been gradually declining and the factors driving this ongoing deterioration are not always well understood. Avipoxvirus infections have been found in a wide range of bird species worldwide, however, very little is known about the disease ecology of avian poxviruses in seabirds. Here we present two novel avipoxviruses from pacific shearwaters (Ardenna spp), one from a Flesh-footed Shearwater (A. carneipes) (SWPV-1) and the other from a Wedge-tailed Shearwater (A. pacificus) (SWPV-2). Results: Epidermal pox lesions, liver, and blood samples were examined from A. carneipes and A. pacificus of breeding colonies in eastern Australia. After histopathological confirmation of the disease, PCR screening was conducted for avipoxvirus, circovirus, reticuloendotheliosis virus, and fungal agents. Two samples that were PCR positive for poxvirus were further assessed by next generation sequencing, which yielded complete Shearwaterpox virus (SWPV) genomes from A. pacificus and A. carneipes, both showing the highest degree of similarity with Canarypox virus (98% and 67%, respectively). The novel SWPV-1 complete genome from A. carneipes is missing 43 genes compared to CNPV and contains 4 predicted genes which are not found in any other poxvirus, whilst, SWPV-2 complete genome was deemed to be missing 18 genes compared to CNPV and a further 15 genes significantly fragmented as to probably cause them to be non-functional. Conclusion: These are the first avipoxvirus complete genome sequences that infect marine seabirds. In the comparison of SWPV-1 and −2 to existing avipoxvirus sequences, our results indicate that the SWPV complete genome from A. carneipes (SWPV-1) described here is not closely related to any other avipoxvirus genome isolated from avian or other natural host species, and that it likely should be considered a separate species.”

Flesh-footed Shearwater, photograph by Barry Baker

Reference

Sarker, S., Das, S., Lavers, J.L., Hutton, I., Helbig, H., Imbery, J., Upton, C. & Raida, S.R. 2017.  Genomic characterization of two novel pathogenic avipoxviruses isolated from pacific shearwaters (Ardenna spp.).  BMC Genomics 18:298 DOI 10.1186/s12864-017-3680-z.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 21 April 2017

Megan Friesen (Northern New Zealand Seabird Trust, Leigh, New Zealand) and colleagues have produced a report for the Conservation Services Programme of New Zealand’s Department of Conservation that considers the foraging behaviour of the ACAP-listed and globally Vulnerable Black Petrel Procellaria parkinsoni and several shearwater species in relation to longline bait in experimental conditions.  The report considers that “Black petrels exhibit a marked preference for squid and it is possible that using other baits when black petrels are present will help avoid interactions.”

The report’s summary follows:

“Petrels and shearwaters are known to have an extra-ordinary ability to dive while seeking food - shearwaters for example are capable of diving to the astonishing depth of over 65 m. This project aims to document the diving and feeding behaviour of petrels and shearwaters in response to fishing baits to inform future development of methods of reducing seabird by-catch. As fishing baits are attractive, there is a significant risk of fatal interactions between seabirds and commercial and recreational fishing activities. Black petrel Procellaria parkinsoni and flesh-footed shearwater Ardenna carneipes have been identified as being at high risk from commercial fisheries in New Zealand waters, particularly longline fisheries that target snapper and bluenose, in addition to interactions with recreational fishers. This threat is most pronounced during their breeding season (i.e. September-April) as these species migrate out of New Zealand waters during winter. Other species have been observed during this study, notably Buller’s shearwater (A. bulleri) and fluttering shearwater (Puffinus gavia). We present distinctions in the bait preference and diving behaviour of black petrels and flesh-footed shearwaters towards baited experiments.”

Black Petrel, photograph by 'Biz' Bell 

With thanks to Barry Baker.

Reference:

Friesen, M.R., Ross, J.R., Robinson, R., Kozmian-Ledward, L. & Gaskin, C.P. [2017].  Diving & foraging behaviour of petrels & shearwaters.  Leigh: Northern New Zealand Seabird Trust.  26 pp.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 20 April 2017

Sixty-seven Near Threatened Mottled Petrel Pterodroma inexpectata chicks were relocated from Codfish Island/Whenua Hou off the southern coast of New Zealand last week.  They were taken to a fenced site in the forested 800-ha Boundary Stream Scenic Reserve in the Maungaharuru mountain range, 24 km inland from Hawkes Bay on North Island.  The reserve is known as a “Mainland Island” where intensive control of mammalian predators is carried out.  The chicks will be hand fed in artificial burrows until they fledge, in the expectation they will return after a few years to the locality as breeding adults.

Starting in 2014, this is the fourth time the species has been moved to the area as part of the Poutiri Ao ō Tāne project, bringing the total number of relocated chicks to over 200.

Mottled Petrel and chick

Previously, 50 Vulnerable Cook’s Petrels P. cookii chicks were translocated to the reserve in 2013, with 86 following in 2014 and more over the next two years.

“Poutiri Ao ō Tāne is a unique collaborative ecological and social project aimed at bringing native wildlife back into the lives of people in Hawke's Bay”.

Selected Literature:

Adams, J., Burns, R., Fastier, D. & Hogan, K. 2008.  Boundary Stream Mainland Island Strategic Plan 2008 to 2018.  Gisborne: Department of Conservation.  21 pp.

Hozumi, A., Loznik, B., Chen, Y.W. & von Takach Dukai, B. 2011.  Seabird reintroduction to Boundary Stream Mainland Island.  A strategic guide to the translocation and management of procellariiform birds at Boundary Stream Scenic Reserve.  Wellington: The Seabird Group, School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington.  49 pp.

Sagar, R.L., Leseberg, A., Ken Hunt, K., Nakagawa, K., Dunphy, B. & J. Rayner, M.J.  2015.  Optimising translocation efforts of Mottled Petrels (Pterodroma inexpectata): growth, provisioning, meal size and the efficacy of an artificial diet for chicks.  Emu http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/MU1405.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 19 April 2017