Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels
Encyclopedia
Treaty
A treaty is an express agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an agreement, protocol, covenant, convention or exchange of letters, among other terms...
signed in 2001.
It was created in order to halt the drastic decline of seabird
Seabird
Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
populations in the Southern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
, particularly albatross
Albatross
Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds allied to the procellariids, storm-petrels and diving-petrels in the order Procellariiformes . They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific...
es and procellariids
Procellariidae
The family Procellariidae is a group of seabirds that comprises the fulmarine petrels, the gadfly petrels, the prions, and the shearwaters. This family is part of the bird order Procellariiformes , which also includes the albatrosses, the storm-petrels, and the diving petrels.The procellariids are...
. The population of Black-browed Albatross
Black-browed Albatross
The Black-browed Albatross or Black-browed Mollymawk, Thalassarche melanophrys, is a large seabird of the albatross family Diomedeidae, and it is the most widespread and common albatross.-Taxonomy:...
es, one of the world's abundant albatross species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
, declined by more than 40 percent in the last 30 years. http://www.acap.aq/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=42&Itemid=45.
The birds are threatened by introduced species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
on their breeding islands, pollution
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
, and being taken as bycatch
Bycatch
The term “bycatch” is usually used for fish caught unintentionally in a fishery while intending to catch other fish. It may however also indicate untargeted catch in other forms of animal harvesting or collecting...
by longline fisheries (which kills more than 300,000 seabirds a year). The Agreement requires that measures be taken by signatory governments to reduce bycatch (by the use of mitigation measures), protection of breeding colonies and control and removal of introduced species from breeding islands
Island restoration
The ecological restoration of islands, or island restoration, is the application of the principles of ecological restoration to islands and island groups. Islands, due to their isolation, are home to many of the world's endemic species, as well as important breeding grounds for seabirds and some...
.
Currently ACAP protects all albatross species and seven petrel
Petrel
Petrels are tube-nosed seabirds in the bird order Procellariiformes. The common name does not indicate relationship beyond that point, as "petrels" occur in three of the four families within that group...
species in the Southern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
. There are plans to incorporate Northern Hemisphere
Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
species to the Agreement in the future. The Agreement marks the increasing international commitment to protect albatrosses and petrels, and is a considerable step forward in the fight to protect the charismatic seabirds.
Organization
The Executive Secretary of the ACAP is Warren Papworth. The Secretariat is located in TasmaniaTasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
The Agreement entered into force on February 1, 2004. The First Meeting of the Parties (MOP1) took place November 10-12, 2004, in Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The Second Meeting of the Parties (MOP2) took place November 13-17, 2006, in Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
Albatrosses and petrels
Both albatrosses and petrels are migratoryBird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
seabirds which nest on remote offshore islands and forage over the open sea. They can travel enormous distances across oceans during foraging flights and migratory journeys.
Albatrosses and petrels are among the most threatened groups of birds in the world. Of the world's 22 species of albatrosses, 18 are listed on the IUCN Red List
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
as critically endangered, endangered
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
, or vulnerable
Vulnerable species
On 30 January 2010, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 9694 Vulnerable species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and sub-populations.-References:...
.
This is due to a combination of threats that have drastically reduced the populations of albatrosses and petrels, including:
- HuntingHuntingHunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
and poachingPoachingPoaching is the illegal taking of wild plants or animals contrary to local and international conservation and wildlife management laws. Violations of hunting laws and regulations are normally punishable by law and, collectively, such violations are known as poaching.It may be illegal and in...
for eggsEgg (food)Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
, meatMeatMeat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...
, and featherFeatherFeathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They...
s; - Habitat destructionHabitat destructionHabitat destruction is the process in which natural habitat is rendered functionally unable to support the species present. In this process, the organisms that previously used the site are displaced or destroyed, reducing biodiversity. Habitat destruction by human activity mainly for the purpose of...
; - The introduction of non-native predators
- The use of longline fishing, used to catch finfishFishFish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
and sharkSharkSharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
s; thousands of seabirds are caught with a main line and hooks attached to branchlines, causing them to be pulled under the water by the weight of the line and drown. This threat can be reduced by modification of fishing practices and adaptation of bycatch mitigation measures. Such measures include the use of bird-scaring lines and streamers, weighted lines to reduce the amount of time baits are available to birds, setting lines at night, setting lines beneath the waters' surface, and seasonal closures of fisheries to avoid fishing when birds are more susceptible to being caught, such as around nesting colonies during the breeding season. http://www.acap.aq/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=40&Itemid=45
Provisions
ACAP helps countries to implement action plans of habitat protection, control the expansion of non-native predators, who can harm albatrosses and petrels, introduce measures reducing bycatch of seabirds, and support research in the sphere of the effective conservation of petrels and albatrosses.Species covered by the Agreement
The following species of albatrosses and petrel are protected by the Agreement allies. http://www.acap.aq/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=41&Itemid=46List of albatrosses covered by the Agreement:
- Northern Royal AlbatrossNorthern Royal AlbatrossThe Northern Royal Albatross or Toroa, Diomedea sanfordi, is a large seabird from the albatross family. It was split from the closely related Southern Royal Albatross as recently as 1998, though not all scientists support that conclusion and consider both of them to be subspecies of the Royal...
(Diomedea sanfordi) - Southern Royal AlbatrossSouthern Royal AlbatrossThe Southern Royal Albatross, Diomedea epomophora, is a large seabird from the albatross family. At an average wingspan of around , it is the second largest albatross, behind the Wandering Albatross.-Taxonomy:...
(Diomedea epomophora) - Wandering AlbatrossWandering AlbatrossThe Wandering Albatross, Snowy Albatross or White-winged Albatross, Diomedea exulans, is a large seabird from the family Diomedeidae, which has a circumpolar range in the Southern Ocean. It was the first species of albatross to be described, and was long considered the same species as the Tristan...
(Diomedea exulans) - Antipodean AlbatrossAntipodean AlbatrossThe Antipodean Albatross, Diomedea antipodensis, is a large seabird, from the albatross family. Antipodean Albatrosses are smaller than Wandering Albatrosses, and breed in predominantly brown plumage, but are otherwise difficult to distinguish from Wanderers.-Etymology:Diomedea antipodensis breaks...
(Diomedea antipodensis) - Amsterdam AlbatrossAmsterdam AlbatrossThe Amsterdam Albatross or Amsterdam Island Albatross, Diomedea amsterdamensis, is a huge albatross which breeds only on Amsterdam Island in the southern Indian Ocean. It was only described in 1983, and was thought by some researchers to be a sub-species of the Wandering Albatross, exulans...
(Diomedea amsterdamensis) - Tristan AlbatrossTristan AlbatrossThe Tristan Albatross, Diomedea dabbenena, is a large seabird from the albatross family. One of the great albatrosses of the genus Diomedea, it was only widely recognised as a full species in 1998.-Taxonomy:...
(Diomedea dabbenena) - Sooty AlbatrossSooty AlbatrossThe Sooty Albatross, Dark-mantled Sooty Albatross or Dark-mantled Albatross, Phoebetria fusca, is a species of bird in the albatross family...
(Phoebetria fusca) - Light-mantled AlbatrossLight-mantled AlbatrossThe Light-mantled Albatross, Phoebetria palpebrata, also known as the Grey-mantled Albatross or the Light-mantled Sooty Albatross, is a small albatross in the genus Phoebetria, which it shares with the Sooty Albatross...
(Phoebetria palpebrata) - Waved AlbatrossWaved AlbatrossThe Waved Albatross, Phoebastria irrorata - also known as Galapagos Albatross - is the only member of the Diomedeidae family located in the tropics. When they forage, the Waved Albatross follow straight paths to a single site off the coast of Peru, about distant to the east...
(Phoebastria irrorata) - Atlantic Yellow-nosed AlbatrossAtlantic Yellow-nosed AlbatrossThe Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross, Thalassarche chlororhynchos, is a large seabird in the albatross family. This small mollymawk was once considered conspecific with the Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross and known as the Yellow-nosed Albatross...
(Thalassarche chlororhyncos) - Indian Yellow-nosed AlbatrossIndian Yellow-nosed AlbatrossThe Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross, Thalassarche carteri, in the albatross family, and is the smallest of the mollymawks. In 2004, BirdLife International split this species from the Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross; however Clements has not split it yet, and the SACC has not either, but recognizes...
(Thalassarche carteri) - Grey-headed AlbatrossGrey-headed AlbatrossThe Grey-headed Albatross, Thalassarche chrysostoma, also known as the Grey-headed Mollymawk, is a large seabird from the albatross family. It has a circumpolar distribution, nesting on isolated islands in the Southern Ocean and feeding at high latitudes, further south than any of the other...
(Thalassarche chrysostoma) - Black-browed AlbatrossBlack-browed AlbatrossThe Black-browed Albatross or Black-browed Mollymawk, Thalassarche melanophrys, is a large seabird of the albatross family Diomedeidae, and it is the most widespread and common albatross.-Taxonomy:...
(Thalassarche melanophrys) - Campbell AlbatrossCampbell AlbatrossThe Campbell Albatross or Campbell Mollymawk, Thalassarche impavida, is a medium-sized mollymawk in the albatross family. It breeds only on Campbell Island and the associated islet of Jeanette Marie, a small New Zealand island group in the South Pacific. It is sometimes considered a subspecies of...
(Thalassarche impavida) - Buller's AlbatrossBuller's AlbatrossBuller's Albatross or Buller's Mollymawk, Thalassarche bulleri, is a small mollymawk in the albatross family. It breeds on islands around New Zealand, and feeds in the seas off Australia and the South Pacific.-Taxonomy:...
(Thalassarche bulleri) - Shy AlbatrossShy AlbatrossThe Shy Albatross or Shy Mollymawk, Thalassarche cauta, is a medium sized albatross that breeds off Australia and New Zealand's sub-Antarctic islands and ranges extensively across the Southern Ocean...
(Thalassarche cauta) - White-capped AlbatrossWhite-capped AlbatrossThe White-capped Albatross, Thalassarche steadi, is a mollymawk that breeds on the islands off of New Zealand. Not all experts agree that this form should be recognized as a separate species to the Shy Albatross, Thalassarche cauta...
(Thalassarche steadi) - Chatham AlbatrossChatham AlbatrossThe Chatham Albatross, Chatham Mollymawk, or Chatham Islands Mollymawk, Thalassarche eremita, is a medium-sized black-and-white albatross which breeds only on The Pyramid, a large rock stack in the Chatham Islands, New Zealand. It is sometimes treated as a subspecies of the Shy Albatross...
(Thalassarche eremita) - Salvin's AlbatrossSalvin's AlbatrossSalvin's Albatross, or Salvin's Mollymawk, Thalassarche salvini, is a large seabird that ranges across the Southern Ocean. A medium sized mollymawk in the albatross family, it was long considered to be a subspecies of the Shy Albatross...
(Thalassarche salvini)
List of petrels covered by the Agreement:
- Southern Giant-Petrel (Macronectes giganteus)
- Northern Giant-Petrel (Macronectes halli)
- White-chinned PetrelWhite-chinned PetrelThe White-chinned Petrel or Cape Hen, Procellaria aequinoctialis, is a large shearwater in the family Procellariidae. It ranges around the Southern Oceans as far north as South Australia, Peru and Namibia, and breeds colonially on scattered islands....
(Procellaria aequinoctialis) - Spectacled PetrelSpectacled PetrelThe Spectacled Petrel, Procellaria conspicillata, is a rare seabird that nests only on the high western plateau of Inaccessible Island in the Tristan da Cunha group. It is one of the largest petrels that nest in burrows.-Description:...
(Procellaria conspicillata) - Black Petrel (Procellaria parkinsoni)
- Westland PetrelWestland PetrelThe Westland Petrel is a rare seabird that nests in New Zealand's forests. It is one of the largest petrels that nest in burrows, and is threatened by species introduced to New Zealand....
(Procellaria westlandica) - Grey PetrelGrey PetrelThe Grey Petrel , also called the Brown Petrel, Pediunker or Grey Shearwater is a species of seabird in the Procellariidae, or petrel family...
(Procellaria cinerea)
Member states
The following countries take part in the Agreement: http://www.acap.aq/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=43&Itemid=47In 2008, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
began to show interest in acceding to the treaty.