Archived News

UPDATE:  According to the latest issue of Project News (No. 16 of April 2013) by 31 March baiting has continued westwards to the Salisbury Area (see map below) and has nearly reached the Bay of Isles.  Three entire baiting zones have now been treated and about half of the 2013 part of Phase 2 has been covered. Both hand and aerial baiting has taken place in the abandoned Prince Olav Harbour whaling station.  Importantly further checks in areas treated in 2011 in Phase 1 have revealed no signs of rats.  So good news still.

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Spreading poison bait to eradicate introduced rats and mice on the South Atlantic island of South Georgia (Islas Georgias del Sur)* got going again on the 3rd of last month with no less than three helicopters on the go.

By mid-March the first zone to be baited in Phase 2, around Stromness Bay on the island’s north-east coast, was approaching completion with more than 2000 km flown, despite often inclement weather. The area flown was then already larger than that covered in Phase 1 on the island in 2011.

To ensure that all rodents are exposed to poison bait the three abandoned whaling stations in Stromness Bay (Husvik, Leith Harbour and Stromness) were hand-baited, with follow-up visits to ascertain bait take-up planned.

The areas in green were treated in Phase 1, the red areas are being treated in Phase 2

Bait spreading during Phase 1

Up to near the end of March baiting has continued with breaks for bad weather when the helicopters could not fly.  The last available reports via Facebook had the Prince Olaf Zone half baited with attempts to move to the west coast being thwarted by low cloud or strong winds on the 28th of March but baiting recommencing during the afternoon of the following day.

Follow the fortunes of the largest island rodent eradication exercise attempted to date in Project News, the Newsletter of the South Georgia Habitat Restoration Project. Click here for the latest issue (No. 15). Previous issues cover the successful Phase One operation and the preparations (and necessary fund-raising) for Phase 2.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, o2 April 2013, updated 04 April 2013

*A dispute exists between the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (Islas Georgias del Sur y Islas Sandwich del Sur) and the surrounding maritime areas.