Agreement on the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrelsand Petrels

Gary Allport

BirdLife International

Red List Indices for selected species-groups

-0.08

-0.02

-0.06

0.001988 1992 1996 2000 2004

Wor

seB

ette

r

-0.04

-0.10

Red

Lis

t In

dex

-0.12

-0.14

-0.16

Pigeons

Waterbirds

Parrots

Raptors

Gamebirds

Seabirds

STATE OF THE WORLD’S BIRDS 2004Indicators for our changing world

Life History Makes Life History Makes Populations VulnerablePopulations Vulnerable

Low Productivity

• Single Egg

• Low Breeding Frequency

• Delayed Sexual Maturity

Summary of Seabird DeclinesSummary of Seabird Declines

•Of 21 species of albatross:–20 are threatened with extinction–1 is near threatened (IUCN Red List)

•Five large petrels also threatened•Primary threat to most species is fisheries bycatch, especially by longline but also trawl fisheries• > 1 billion hooks set per year; kill more than 300,000 seabirds, including 100,000 albatrosses•Albatross and Procellaria petrels most at threat in Southern Ocean – where albatross and petrel populations and longline effort are concentrated

Threatened seabird distribution

Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels

• Highly migratory species such as albatrosses and petrels cannot be conserved by one country acting independently of other nations which share the same species populations

• Countries which share populations of threatened seabirds have sought to take actions on an international level to complement policy and actions taken within their own jurisdictions

– protect critical habitat– control non-native species detrimental to albatrosses and petrels– introduce measures to reduce the incidental catch of seabirds in long-line fisheries– support research into the effective conservation of albatrosses and petrels

Entry into the agreement allows members to implement complementary action plans to :

Overlap of the combined density grid of breeding albatrosses and petrels with total pelagic effort (blue) and demersal effort (green) for 1998. Fisheries data from Tuck et al. (2003)

CCAMLR

IOTC

ICCATIATTC WCPFC

WCPFC

CCSBT

IPHC

UD50%75%95%Range

CPPS

Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels

• Currently protects all southern hemisphere albatross species and seven species of southern hemisphere petrels• Northern hemisphere species may benefit from incorporation into the Agreement

Signatories - Spain, UK, New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Chile Ecuador, Argentina, South Africa and Norway

US Commission on Ocean Policy

“It is in America’s interests to work with the international community to preserve the productivity and health of the oceans and to secure cooperation among nations everywhere in managing marine assets wisely.”

Final Report of the US Commission on Ocean Policy, September 2004

US leadership

• Reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act promotes the science-based fishery management techniques successfully developed in the North Pacific

• ACAP can act as a vehicle for U.S. to demonstrate leadership by promoting world-wide use of successful seabird bycatch mitigation

measures developed domestically

SummarySummary

• Clear shared resource

• Needs international agreement to be effective

• Adds value to existing frameworks, such as bycatch committee works of Regional Fisheries Management Organisations