Today marks the fifth annual celebration of World Albatross Day. The Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) inaugurated this day in 2020 to be celebrated annually on 19th June, with the intention of increasing global awareness of the conservation crisis facing albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters. In today’s blog, to commemorate ACAP’s World Albatross Day as well as the 20th anniversary of the Agreement coming into force this year, we reflect on some of the positive progress made, how we have contributed to those efforts and how this has supported the aims of ACAP. Zoe Jacobs – International Bycatch Project Officer in the International Marine Programme – explains how collaborative efforts over the last 20 years have contributed to global seabird conservation.
Conservation needs of seabirdsWorld Albatross Day is a time to reflect on the critical conservation crisis facing seabirds: the most threatened groups of birds and among the most threatened groups of vertebrate groups worldwide. Approximately half of the 365 seabird species have declining populations and 31% are globally threatened, including 15 of the 22 albatross species.
The highest at-sea impact affecting seabirds is incidental mortality in fisheries (known as bycatch), while on-land seabirds can be confronted by multiple threats including invasive alien species. As many seabird species are highly migratory with vast transboundary ranges, extending across national borders, halting the declines in seabird populations necessitates urgent international cooperation. This was the reason behind the formation of the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP), a multilateral agreement that is dedicated to conserving albatrosses and petrels by coordinating international conservation activities. ACAP’s 13 signatory Parties, alongside international experts, researchers and organisations work together to conserve and protect these seabirds – specifically, the 31 species of albatross, petrel and shearwater listed under the Agreement. World Albatross Day is also a day to express gratitude to all the people and organisations that work tirelessly to save seabirds.
Group of seabirds surrounding trawl gear in Argentina. The incredible olfactory abilities of seabirds makes them vulnerable, attracting them to fishing vessels from as far as 30 nautical miles away in search of an “easy” meal. In trawl fisheries such as this, it is estimated that 50,000-100,000 birds are killed due to bycatch per year. © Nahuel Chavez – ATF Argentina / Aves Argentinas.
Our commitment to global seabird conservationSince 2000, the RSPB has hosted staff in the UK that coordinate activities of the BirdLife International Marine Programme in close collaboration with the BirdLife Marine Science team in Cambridge, national BirdLife Partners and collaborating NGOs around the world.
A major focus of the RSPB has been setting up and supporting the Albatross Task Force (ATF), a team of international practitioners that work alongside the fishing industry to increase awareness of the threats facing seabirds and promote the use of simple solutions to prevent accidental deaths caused by fishing operations - called seabird bycatch mitigation measures.
Some of the BirdLife International Marine Programme team, including from the ATF, BirdLife Marine Science Team, and RSPB International Marine Team – during the ATF Workshop, hosted by the Namibia Nature Foundation in Swakopmund, Namibia, in September 2023. © Namibia Nature Foundation / ATF-Namibia.
Implementing evidence-based solutions to the negative impacts of fisheries on albatrosses and petrels remains our highest priority. We have frequently reported encouraging progress in the national waters of several nations where sustained reductions in seabird bycatch by as much as 98% have been achieved. The challenge confronting the community of researchers and collaborators dedicating their efforts to save the albatross is to transfer the positive experience gained in national waters to drive improvements on vessels fishing on the high seas – the vast area of ocean beyond the national jurisdiction of any single country.
This complex issue needs the full support of the Parties to ACAP and further dedicated, coordinated efforts by the experienced researchers and organisations that have shown the art of the possible in national waters. If albatrosses and petrels are to stand a chance of survival in their natural habitat of the high seas, the energy and momentum driven by ACAP will need to be greater than ever.
20 years of collaborative work towards seabird conservation The collective efforts of the Parties to ACAP and the organisations that support the endeavours of the working groups have provided great steps in several main areas.
The BirdLife International Marine Programme has played an active role at ACAP ever since the Agreement came into force, by attending 46 of the 50 ACAP meetings to date and consistently holding membership in all of ACAP’s Working Groups since the first was formed in 2005.
The BirdLife International Marine Programme has authored and co-authored 178 meeting documents and information papers submitted to ACAP over the last 20 years. This represents a body of work that was only made possible through collaborative efforts globally among the Marine Programme, ACAP and a range of other organisations – including NGOs, scientists, research institutes, and government bodies. The purpose of this work is to inform the ACAP Parties of up-to-date scientific information and research on ACAP-listed species, their threats and conservation status.
We are proud to have contributed to the 20 years of progress that ACAP Parties have achieved. The areas where BirdLife and the RSPB have primarily supported have been through:
ATF instructors on a domestic pelagic longliner in South Africa presenting to the fishing crew and skipper of a on how to deploy Hookpods – a Best Practice mitigation measure for pelagic longline fisheries. © Reason Nyengera – ATF South Africa / BirdLife South Africa.
On this World Albatross Day, we congratulate ACAP and the Parties to the Agreement for the activities that have been conducted to date, and we celebrate our proud contribution to that work. The years of collaboration, partnerships and collective efforts to improve the conservation status of threatened seabirds have only been possible thanks to a generous nature and camaraderie amongst the people involved. Long may it continue!
The BirdLife International Marine Programme, hosted by the RSPB, is dedicated to the protection of seabirds and the wider preservation of marine ecosystems.
A Grey-headed Albatross (Thalassarche chrysostoma) chick on Bird Island, South Georgia / Islas Georgias del Sur. This species is listed as globally Endangered on the IUCN Red List – with only approximately 250,000 mature individuals left in the world, its population has declined by 50-79% over the last 90 years. Tens of thousands of these birds die per year due to incidental capture in longline fisheries. © James Crymble – British Antarctic Survey.
Continue reading• Protecting seabirds from fishing hooks - testing hook-shielding devices in South Africa• On a mission to protect seabirds from bycatch in fisheries: an interview with Yasuko Suzuki• World Seabird Day – protecting biodiversity in the High Seas
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