Partnership fornature and people

Sea change for the oceans

BirdLife International Marine Programme

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Seabirds, one of the world’s most threatened group of birds, are the best indicators of the health of global oceans.

For decades our expertise and evidence have catalysed action to identify and address threats to seabirds both on land and at sea. Through the BirdLife Partnership, we work globally in the waters of 120 countries and on the High Seas, in collaborative partnerships with government agencies, industry, NGOs, communities and individuals to:

• Identify the key areas for conserving marine life• Assess the impacts of threats• Propose and implement solutions• Promote the sustainable management of

our oceans.

The BirdLife International Marine Programme finds solutions to protect seabirds, marine life and the habitats they depend on.

3The Albatross Task Force, which works with the fishing industry in eight countries.

Images: Front cover - Soaring albatross by A Silva-Costa; Young elephant seal in king penguin colony by Gunther Riehle; Albatross Task Force and fishermen by Albatross Task Force Argentina; Bronwyn with binoculars by Christine Madden; Back of fishing vessel by Ross Wanless; Diving cormorants by Dmitry Miroshnikov; Foreword - Surreal diving by Dmitry Miroshnikov, page 1 - Albatross and chick by Andrea Angel and Ross Wanless; Albatross Task Force Instructor team by Albatross Task Force, pages 4-5 - Penguin colony background by Ross Wanless; Bycaught albatross by Martin Abreu; African penguin by Ross Wanless; Fishing vs birds by Luis Cabezas; Oiled bird by Forest & Bird; Invasive mouse with kill by Andrea Angel and Ross Wanless, page 6 - Tagged soaring albatross by Jon Ashburner; Scientists tagging albatross by David Gremillet; page 7 - IBA map by Ben Lascelles/BirdLife, Gentoo Penguin by Ben Lascelles; page 8 - Spanish mIBA by J.M. Arcos, SEO/BirdLife; Whale tail by S Ebbert, page 9 - Chinese Crested Tern by Chen Li, worldsrarestbirds.com; Fiji Petrel by worldsrarestbirds.com; page 10 - Soaring albatross by A Silva-Costa; Patricio Krause by Kranet Ltd.; page 11 - Stellar’s Eider in net by Markus Vetemaa, Bronwyn by Christine Madden; page 12 - Albatross on hook by Graham Robertson; David Wilson by Indian Ocean Tuna Commission; page 13 - Vessel by Bokamoso Lebepe; MSC Mackerel by Ulf Berglund; Turtle by Jordi Chias, uwaterphoto.com; page 14 - Albatross Task Force shaking hands by Albatross Task Force Brazil; Sharks and fish by Jeff Litton / Marine Photobank; page 15 - Diving cormorants by Dmitry Miroshnikov.

Predation by invasive speciesSome of the world’smost threatened seabirds - including Tristan Albatross,Galapagos Petrel, Chinese Crested Tern and Fiji Petrel - are affected by invasivespecies.

Climate changeThe loss of breeding sites through melting sea ice and sea level rise is an immediate threat. Changes in ocean dynamics and food chains are already impacting many other species and will continue to do so in the longer term.

Bycatch in fishing gear Longlines and trawls 300,000 seabirds killed by these fishing gears combined each year.Gillnets: 400,000 birds killed by this fishing gear each year.Purse seines: Shearwaters appear to be particularly susceptible, but we have no global estimate of the total death toll yet.

Habitat destruction and degradationLoss of breeding and feeding habitat.

The BirdLife International Marine Programme has been at the heart of efforts to assess threats to seabirds and find solutions

Competition for prey with commercial fisheriesThe rapid expansion of fisheries for smaller species that seabirds feed on – like krill, anchovies and capelin – threatens the productivity and survival of birds through direct competition.

Marine pollutionPollution by oil, chemicals and plastics already affects over a quarter of threatened seabird species.

Seabirds are one of of the world’s most threatened

group of birdsAlmost half of all seabird species are

in decline and under threat.

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Putting seabirds on the mapWorking internationally with scientists and marine experts, we have established Tracking Ocean Wanderers: the global seabird tracking database, the largest of its kind in the world.

By analyzing seabird movements and distribution, both when breeding on land and feeding at sea, we have identified the location of 3,500 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs). Vitally, our work is pinpointing where at-sea threats have the greatest negative impact, and guides where fisheries and protection measures are most urgently needed. Using seabirds as indicators, we can identify where some of the greatest conservation gains for the marine environment can be made.

Explore the world of seabird data at www.birdlife.org/datazone/marine

“ BirdLife’s work has made a valuable contribution to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) process to describe areas meeting the CBD scientific criteria for Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs) ”

Dr. Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, CBD Executive Secretary

We’ve collaborated with scientists around the world to create a unique interactive map showing the world’s key sites for the conservation of seabirds and wider marine life

Grey-headed Albatross data informs important areas in need of protection.

• Raw tracking data

Tracked range Main feeding areas

Key areas in need of protection (IBAs)

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Protecting the most important places for seabirdsIdentifying IBAs at sea is just the first step - we need to ensure that these sites are properly protected. In order to do this we ensure that this information is in the hands of decision makers and used at the highest level: in national, regional and international policy frameworks, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

We are working through Partners to protect IBAs.

Despite notable successes, there remains much to be done. Many of these sites, while internationally recognised as important, are unprotected. We will continue to press at national, regional and global levels for the formal designation and protection of these sites. In order to maximise the conservation benefits of IBAs, we will enhance our existing partnerships and develop new ones with organisations working on marine mammals and turtles.

“ The Spanish marine IBA inventory constitutes a very valuable element for the Spanish authorities, and the European Commission, in the identification of Special Protection Areas for seabirds ”

Preventing ExtinctionsWe operate worldwide, across the BirdLife Partnership and with other global experts, to help save seabirds in peril of extinction. Special initiatives include:

Major focus on albatross – 15 of 22 species are threatened with extinction; our work on bycatch has a strong emphasis on preventing the needless deaths of albatrosses in fisheries.

Pterodroma Petrels – we have established a forum for researchers to share their experiences of working on these enigmatic species. This is helping to determine conservation priorities and influence policy.

Balearic Shearwater – we are making concerted efforts to tackle the threats of invasive species, tourist developments on breeding islands and bycatch in fisheries.

Penguins – we are building our understanding of penguin movements at sea and potential interactions with fisheries and other industries.

Chinese Crested Tern - we are enhancing protection and monitoring at the sole viable current breeding site; establishing and improving other known or potential breeding sites; defining and protecting key feeding areas.

Ms Soledad Blanco, Director, Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission.

Our work helped to create a Marine Protected Area network in Spain.

Critically Endangered Fiji Petrel.

Critically Endangered Chinese Crested Tern had their best breeding season to date in 2014.

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Hundreds of thousands of seabirds, particularly albatrosses, needlessly die behind fishing boats each year. They are caught and drowned on baited longline hooks and nets and killed by collisions with trawl cables.

We started campaigning for changes in fishing practices in the 1990s. Solving the seabird bycatch crisis requires working directly with the fishermen themselves, as well as with fishery managers and governments. By 2005 we had established the Albatross Task Force ATF) – an international team of seabird bycatch mitigation instructors.

Ending seabird bycatchHelping fisheries to change for the better

The challenge now is to follow South Africa’s lead in other countries, translating the bycatch reductions achieved on participating vessels, right across national fishing fleets, into new, particularly small-scale, fisheries and onto High Seas vessels. In 2014, we branched out even further, applying the ATF model to establish the ‘Seabird Task Force’, tackling bycatch in Europe.

Recently we have identified that seabird entanglement in gillnet fisheries is a substantial threat, and have been amassing evidence of birds being caught in purse seine nets. Since 2013 we have worked in gillnet fisheries in particular, which threaten a host of different species, including seaducks, shearwaters, penguins, auks, turtles, dolphins and porpoises. The challenge is substantial: these fisheries are often small-scale, with huge numbers of individual fishermen – and effective mitigation measures to reduce bycatch are not yet developed. However, we believe that our experience with the Albatross Task Force stands us in good stead to meet these challenges!

“ The world of fishing is changing and everyone in the sector must learn to adapt to those changes as well. I’m now part of the Albatross Task Force’s project to develop a new form of fishing; one that saves seabirds ”Patricio Krause, former purse seine captain and director of Kranet Ltd., a Chilean company working with the ATF to modify purse seine nets to save seabirds.

Today, these teams work on fishing vessels in the seabird bycatch hotspots of South America and southern Africa to demonstrate, test and improve mitigation measures (techniques that reduce bycatch). We are dramatically reducing seabird bycatch, maintaining fish catches and enhancing the sustainability and efficiency of fisheries. The scale of potential success has already been demonstrated by the Albatross Task Force in South Africa. Here, the team worked with industry and government in the hake trawl fishery to achieve a sustained reduction in albatross bycatch of 99% over a six year period!

Seabird bycatch has been reduced dramatically in the South African hake trawl.

We are working with fishermen to reduce gillnet bycatch.

Award-winning Albatross Task Force instructors test and find solutions.

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Giving seabirds a voiceTackling bycatch in international waters requires coordinated, global efforts. We work in the international policy arena to effect positive change for seabirds and the marine environment.

Regional Fisheries Management OrganisationsThe jurisdictions of the world’s five tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (or RFMOs) overlap with 80% of global albatross distribution - they clearly have a vital role to play in reducing bycatch threats to albatross populations. We are working with these (and other) RFMOs to develop, implement and enforce conservation measures that help keep seabirds off hooks on the high seas.

Our efforts are leading to the adoption of mitigation measures to save seabirds at a global scale – making a massive contribution to the survival of a range of rare and iconic species.

Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP)BirdLife plays an active role in ACAP, the multilateral agreement that seeks to conserve albatrosses and petrels through international action. We provide ACAP with data on the Red List status of albatrosses and petrels, as well as information from the Albatross Task Force and from our work with RFMOs. BirdLife co-led on the identification of Internationally Important Sites for ACAP species. With ACAP, we have produced multilingual Mitigation Fact Sheets which describe mitigation measures available to reduce seabird bycatch in longline and trawl fisheries.www.birdlife.org/worldwide/seabird-bycatch-mitigation-factsheets

Marine Stewardship CouncilThe Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) manages an ecolabelling scheme and standard that certifies fisheries as sustainable. BirdLife International has worked to strengthen MSC’s criteria on the bycatch of birds, mammals and sea turtles, serves on their Stakeholder Council, and engages in the assessment of individual fisheries, particularly where seabird bycatch is an issue.www.msc.org

“ BirdLife’s willingness to work collaboratively with our membership has resulted in it becoming the single most effective and respected NGO working on bycatch matters in the Indian Ocean ” David Wilson, Deputy Secretary/Science Manager for the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission.

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Scaling up success – tackling new challenges

Ensuring forage fisheries are sustainableIncreasingly, global fisheries are targeting species lower down the food chain, putting them in direct prey competition with seabirds. We plan to develop projects to assess and reduce the impact of these activities on populations of seabirds and other marine species.

Key sites: protection and managementMarine spatial planningSeabirds are at risk from oil spills and potentialcollisions with poorly sited offshore windfarms.Plans for mining of seabed minerals are alsodeveloping rapidly. Planning and regulationneed to be strong to ensure the associatedrisks are minimized. The BirdLife Partnership will work with other organisations to improve national and regional marine spatial planning.

Climate change We plan to use the existing BirdLife data toidentify breeding sites, especially of threatenedspecies, most vulnerable to sea level rise and our Partnership will work with relevant organisations to investigate potentialfor translocations to safer sites.

Keeping common seabirds commonMany widespread, “common” seabirds, especially in the tropics, are in steady decline. If we wait until they reach global threat status, it may be too late for some species torecover. We will work with local communities and national governments to improve the protection and management of sites with key seabird colonies.

Clean seasThe proliferation of marine debris, particularly plastic, is of serious concern to marine wildlife. The population-level impacts of marine debris need to be investigated; meanwhile BirdLife will support local initiatives to remove plastics from beaches and to assist the development of “clean seas” campaigns.

Seabirds are incredible, but in danger – half of all species are in decline.The BirdLife International Marine Programme is tackling some of the biggest threats.

We want to work with you.

Get in touch to find out how you can support us.

For inquiries about our Marine work:

BirdLife International Marine ProgrammeRoyal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)The LodgeSandyBedfordshire SG19 2DLUK

t. 01767 680551e. marine@birdlife.org

@BirdLifeMarine

www.birdlife.org/marine

“ Let us work together to create new waves of action for ocean sustainability – for people and the planet ” Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General on World Ocean Day (8 June 2013)

For general information about BirdLife, contact:BirdLife International, Wellbrook Court, Girton Road, Cambridge CB3 0NA UNITED KINGDOMT:+44 (0)1223 277 318 F:+44 (0)1223 277 200 E: birdlife@birdlife.org @birdlife_news

www.birdlife.org

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