At ACAP’s most recent meetings, held in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK in May, its Population and Conservation Status Working Group (PaCSWG) considered an information paper (PaCSWG 7 Inf 05) submitted by the Mouse-Free Marion (MFM) Project and co-written by Dr Azwianewi Makhado (South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, DFFE) and Dr Anton Wolfaardt (MFM Project Manager). Their paper sets out the background and need for the project that aims to eradicate House Mice on Marion Island and reports on its current status. It ends by inviting the PaCSWG, ACAP and ACAP Parties “to follow our progress, and endorse and support the MFM Project which aims to achieve a more favourable conservation status for Marion Island and its globally important seabirds, including eight ACAP-listed species”. Following discussion, the PaCSWG7 recognised that this is a key project at a major global breeding site and urged all who could support the work to do so. The PaCSWG then recommended that the ACAP Advisory Committee endorse and support the MFM Project.

The 13th Meeting of the ACAP Advisory Committee (AC13) the following week heard a presentation of the PaCSWG report (AC13 Doc 09) from its Convenors that inter alia drew attention to its recommendation on the MFM Project. Following discussion among the ten Parties present, AC13 agreed to endorse and encourage support for the MFM Project, reiterating its importance (click here).

Delegates attending the Thirteenth Meeting of the ACAP Advisory Committee outside Queen Elizabeth House, Edinburgh, Scotland, photograph by Bree Forrer

The international support received from ACAP means that all six nations that hold breeding populations of one or more of the eight ACAP-listed species of albatrosses and petrels that breed on Marion Island have endorsed the MFM Project. These are Argentina, Australia, France, Chile, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Endorsement by these Parties joins government support for the project within South Africa, recently confirmed by Ms Barbara Creecy, Minister of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment in her budget speech (click here).

Dr Azwianewi Makhado (DFFE and South Africa’s National Contact Point for the Agreement) writes: “South Africa appreciates the support and endorsement of the progress coming from ACAP’s Advisory Committee at its Thirteenth Meeting held in May. It also appreciates the effort being made by the MFM Project to eradicate mice on Marion Island. The country will continue to provide support for this important project to help conserve the albatross and petrel species that breed on the island.”

Dr Sue Tonin, MFM’s recently appointed Assistant Project Manager, also expresses her thanks: “ACAP’s welcome support of the eradication of House Mice from Marion Island reflects an international understanding of the effectiveness of this approach for protecting vulnerable procellariforms breeding on the world’s islands. The Mouse-Free Marion Project Team is reliant on the pioneering nations, organizations and individuals who are continually refining the techniques we will be using in this operation, and on the dedicated support of researchers and policymakers.”

Non-breeding Wandering Albatrosses “gam” on Marion Island, photograph by Alexis Osborne, poster design by Michelle Risi

The international and national endorsements received by the MFM Project are an encouragement to the project’s team and its many supporters and funders in South Africa and around the world to intensify their efforts to ensure the end of Marion’s mice. On a personal note I have visited Marion Island no less than 31 times over a 40-year career as a marine ornithologist, the last time in 2014. I continue to feel a passion for the island and am pleased I can contribute to its conservation as the MFM Project’s voluntary News Correspondent.

With thanks to Robert Crawford, who represented South Africa at the ACAP meetings in Scotland.

References:

Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels 2023. Report of the Thirteenth Meeting of the Advisory Committee, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, 22-26 May. 68 pp.

Makhado, A. & Wolfaardt, A. 2023. The Mouse-Free Marion Project. Seventh Meeting of the Population and Conservation Status Working Group, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, 18 - 19 May 2023. PaCSWG7 Inf 05. 5 pp.

Population and Conservation Status Working Group 2023.  Report of the Population and Conservation Status Working Group. Thirteenth Meeting of the Advisory Committee Edinburgh, United Kingdom, 22 – 26 May 2023. AC13 Doc 09. 43 pp.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 04 July 2023

A Northern Royal Albatross in flight over the ocean; photograph by Oscar Thomas. The new treaty on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) could be significant for the conservation of albatrosses and petrels.

On Monday 19 June, whilst albatross enthusiasts were raising awareness of plastic pollution in celebration of World Albatross Day, a momentous occasion in ocean conservation was taking place at the UN Headquarters in New York. Governments officially adopted a new legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ).

After the successful conclusion of negotiations on the Agreement in early March 2023, the draft text underwent a technical edit by an informal open-ended working group before its adoption. 

UN Secretary, António Guterres, in his address to delegates of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) pointed to the multiple threats faced by the ocean and hailed governments for coming together on the landmark treaty at such a critical time, saying:

“Climate change is heating our planet, disrupting weather patterns and ocean currents, and altering marine ecosystems and the species living there…Marine biodiversity is under attack from overfishing, over-exploitation and ocean acidification. Over one-third of fish stocks are being harvested at unsustainable levels. And we are polluting our coastal waters with chemicals, plastics and human waste. The historic achievement we celebrate today is vital to address these threats, and ensure the sustainability of those areas not covered under national jurisdiction.”

The Agreement, which has been under negotiation by the IGC since 2018, provides a legal framework for governing the vast areas of waters beyond national boundaries – over two-thirds of the ocean. It incorporates a number of mechanisms to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of BBNJ, including: 

• provisions on marine genetic resources (MGRs); 

• Area Based Management Tools (ABMT), including marine protected areas (MPAs); 

• environmental impact assessments (EIA), and; 

• capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology (CB&TMT).

Albatrosses and petrels traverse vast areas of the open ocean and cross multiple national borders, making conservation efforts complex and challenging. The treaty could herald a significant moment for the conservation of ACAP-listed species, offering a framework to address the numerous challenges faced by these remarkable seabirds. 

IGC President Rena Lee (Singapore), who has been praised for steering the Agreement to its success, has urged for its swift ratification. The BBNJ Agreement requires 60 parties to ratify it before it can come into force and opens for signature on 20 September 2023. 

More information on the BBNJ can be found at the United Nations website, here.

3 July 2023

Bird-scaring lines (BSL) (pictured) are one of the mitigation measures implemented by New Zealand's squid trawl fishery. Photograph by Domingo Jimenez

Keith Reid (Ross Analytics Pty Ltd, Tasmania, Australia) and colleagues have published in the journal, Emu – Austral Ornithology on the implementation of seabird bycatch mitigation measures in squid trawl fisheries in New Zealand.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Although there is an increasing awareness of the high rates of seabird bycatch in trawl fisheries globally, there is relatively limited implementation of effective mitigation measures. Seabirds that are attracted to the stern of the trawl vessel to feed on fish-waste can be drowned or injured when they collide with warps/cables or when they become entangled in nets. Managing fish-waste discharge (processing offal and discards) and limiting access to it by scaring birds have been identified as the most effective measures to reduce seabird mortality from collisions with warps. New Zealand’s arrow squid (Nototodarus spp.) trawl fishery occurs during the austral summer and autumn when there is significant overlap with large numbers of foraging seabirds due to the proximity of breeding areas. Regulations introduced by the New Zealand government in 2007 requiring the use of devices to reduce warp strikes and operational procedures to manage fish-waste were independently implemented by the fishing industry in 2007 with the support of fishery regulators. The rate of capture of albatrosses by warps decreased from a mean of 2.9 birds per 100 tows during the period 2003 to 2006 to a mean of 0.7 birds per 100 tows after 2007. Long-term ownership of squid fishery quota catalysed the proactive engagement of the industry and has been reflected in a positive cultural shift in the attitude of fishers towards managing the risk of the capture of seabirds. Multi-sector collaboration and engagement allowed for the translation of experimental mitigation results into long-term, industrial-scale operational practices.” 

Reference:

Keith Reid, G. Barry Baker & Richard Wells (2023) Mitigation of seabird bycatch in New Zealand squid trawl fisheries provides hope for ongoing solutions, Emu - Austral Ornithology, DOI: 10.1080/01584197.2023.2214580

30 June 2023

Manaaki, the Royal Cam chick for 2022/23 - a bit damp after rain – was officially named on 19 June, World Albatross Day

The small breeding colony of the globally Endangered and Nationally Vulnerable Northern Royal Albatrosses Diomedea sanfordi on the New Zealand mainland at Pukekura/Taiaroa Head is well known as a tourist sight and for its intensive management. Since the 2015/16 season, a 24-hour live-streaming camera operated by the Department of Conservation with the Cornell Lab for Ornithology has been focused on a breeding attempt from incubation through to fledging (click here).

For the current breeding season the camera has been aimed at a colour-banded pair (male - GLY, Green, Lime, Yellow, and female - L, Lime) who have previously raised two chicks. Their 2022/23 chick hatched on 20 January 2023 and identified as a male has been attracting the usual close attention from devoted followers via the live feed and Facebook pages.

Known as “Sweet Pea” on hatching, it has now been given the name Manaaki following a request for names and a public vote (click here). Suggested names had to be submitted with a photograph showing the person entering the name doing something to reduce plastic pollution. “This year's competition is about acting sustainably to reduce how much plastic ends up in our oceans. This also supports this year’s World Albatross Day theme of plastic pollution. The plastic that ends up in our oceans threatens our seabirds. They can be hurt by it, become entangled or mistake it for food for themselves or their chicks. Using less plastic in our daily lives reduces the amount that ends up in our oceans. So, no matter where you are in the world, you can help colonies like the Northern Royal Albatrosses at Pukekura/Taiaroa Head by using less plastic day to day. The action also had to be sustainable. This meant it needed to be a repeatable action, that would not create any negative impact on the environment.”

140 people submitted their name suggestions and 1169 people voted for their favourite from a short list of 10 names. “Manaaki”, which received the most votes at 209, is a te reo Māori word with the meaning of “providing support, protection, and hospitality and showing admiration and kindness”.

A close up view of Manaaki

If the Royal Cam is not showing much action (such as a parent visiting to feed its chick) you can also while away some time completing an online jigsaw entitled “Manaaki Works in the Grasses”. Choose the number of pieces from 24 to 300 to suit your available spare time and level of concentration!

Manaaki does a wing stretch; photographs from the New Zealand Department of Conservation

The most recent news is that on 20 June when 151 days old (from hatching) the Royal Cam chick was weighed at 11 kg, so quite chonky!

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 29 June 2023