For every season since 2010 the female-female pair of Short-tailed Albatrosses Phoebastria albatrus has returned to the USA’s Kure Atoll in the North-Western Hawaiian Islands to lay eggs (click here).

Both birds were banded as chicks so their current ages for their latest breeding attempt are known.  One is 15 years of age (banded in 2000) and is still in intermediate plumage.  The other bird is now 22 years old having been banded in 1993 and is in adult plumage.  All previous breeding attempts have failed during the incubation stage – which both birds share - as the eggs they each lay are assumed to be infertile (click here).

The intermediate-plumaged Short-tailed Albatross on Kure.

Photograph from Winter Season 2015/2016 Volunteer Ryan Potter’s blog on the Kure Atoll Conservancy website

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 03 December 2015

The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) renewed its Memorandum of Understanding with ACAP at its 34th Annual Meeting held in Hobart, Tasmania this October.  The renewed MoU was approved without emendation from the original text of March 2013 (click here).

Following on from the CCAMLR meeting the ACAP Executive Secretary, Warren Papworth and Andrew “Drew” Wright, Executive Secretary of CCAMLR came together in the ACAP Offices in Salamanca Square, Hobart to co-sign the new MoU at the end of last month.

The primary objective of the MoU is to facilitate cooperation between CCAMLR and ACAP with a view to supporting efforts to mimimise the by-catch of albatrosses and petrels listed in Annex 1 of ACAP within the CCAMLR Convention Area.  The MoU will remain in effect for a further three years.

ACAP Executive Secretary, Warren Papworth (left) and Drew Wright, Executive Secretary of CCAMLR sign the MoU between their respective organizations; photograph by Marco Favero

Click here for the newly adopted text of the MoU between ACAP and CCAMLR.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 03 November 2015

The Hawaiian Department of Land and Natural Resources (DNLR) has reminded coastal residents on the island of Kauai to  keep their domestic cats indoors and dogs leashed or fenced in from now until July next year in regions where Laysan Albatrosses Phoebastria immutabilis breed (click here).  DLNR’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife is distributing informational flyers to encourage the public to help protect the seabirds.

“We are asking dog owners to be responsible with their pets when walking along our coastal areas,” said Kaua‘I biologist Thomas Ka‘iakapu.  “The message is simple – keep your dogs under control and on their leads.  That way we can prevent these kinds of incidents from happening over and over again”.

In previous years there have been a number of cases of both chicks and adults being killed by domestic, stray and feral animals on Kauai (click for examples for cats and for dogs).

Laysan Albatrosses killed by dogs on Kauai in 2004, photograph by Brenda Zaun

Read about the suburban albatrosses of Princeville and along the north-eastern shore on Kauai.

Two well-illustrated blogs follow the fortunes of the Kauai’s suburban-breeding albatrosses:

http://albatrossdiary.com/

http://www.albatrosskauai.com/

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 01 December 2015

Malta holds 10% of the World’s Vulnerable Yelkouan Shearwaters Puffinus yelkouan (a potential candidate species for ACAP listing), 3% of Scopoli’s Shearwaters Calonectris diomedea and half of the population of Mediterranean Storm Petrels Hydrobates pelagicus melitensis.  At an international workshop Protecting Seabirds in the Mediterranean: Advancing the Marine Protected Area Network held in Gozo, Malta last week BirdLife Malta announced that half of Maltese waters are internationally important for seabirds, following the  findings of the EU-funded LIFE+ Malta Seabird Project.

Yelkouan Shearwater at sea

IBA areas for Yelkouan Shearwaters around Malta

IBA areas for Scopoli's Shearwaters around Malta

These  newly identified Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in Maltese waters are now being considered for declaration as Marine Special Protection Areas by the Maltese Government, who were partners in the project (click here).

Karmenu Vella, EU Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, addressed the workshop by video link to welcome the news as  an important contribution to European nature protection.

“Natura 2000 sites are the centrepiece of European nature legislation, helping in our efforts to halt biodiversity loss.  Less than 2% of the EU’s offshore waters are currently part of the network… for Natura 2000 to fulfil its potential we need many more offshore sites.  So I am delighted to see this close collaboration between BirdLife Malta and the Maltese Ministry of Environment.  I look forward to receiving the official notification from Malta that the corresponding Special Protection Areas have been designated”.

Click here to view an illustrated booklet on the LIFE+ Malta Seabird Project by Birdlife Malta.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 30 November 2015