Countries agree on seabird protection
The 13 member countries of the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (Acap) have agreed to engage with the fisheries that are decimating seabird numbers, the Department of Conservation (Doc) says.
Doc international manager Danica Stent, who chaired the meeting of the parties to the agreement in Dunedin last week, said the meeting "was a success, and notable for the co-operation and alignment between the Acap members who attended".
"All members agreed to a declaration that albatrosses and petrels are facing a conservation crisis due to the threat of bycatch in commercial fisheries.
"They unanimously committed to a comprehensive set of actions for addressing the conservation crisis.
"Our scientists and technical experts will work together with their international counterparts to implement these actions over the next three years," Ms Stent said.
Up to 300,000 seabirds are killed in longline fisheries every year and Acap has been working to protect the birds since it formed in 2001.
Delegates from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, France, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom and Uruguay attended this year's meeting.
"Given the worsening conservation status of many of our seabirds, this meeting was an important step forward in achieving international collaboration to reverse the rapid rate of their decline," Ms Stent said.
"We cannot save these species without the help of other countries involved in the governance of fisheries where our birds are under threat."
Acap countries agreed to continue their science and technical co-operation activities under the agreement, she said.
These included: providing information on seabird bycatch in their fisheries, which Acap used to understand threat levels and decide on future initiatives; working on strategies to instigate the "widespread uptake" of Acap best practice advice to lessen bycatch in domestic and high seas fisheries; and collaborating on research to better understand the range of tools available to mitigate bycatch.
They agreed to engage with regional fisheries management organisations to promote the use of best practice, and do the same with non-Acap member countries whose fishing vessels overlapped with the range of albatrosses and petrels.
They also agreed to commit to raising awareness of the conservation crisis that albatrosses and petrels were facing, she said.
Sixteen of the 31 albatross and petrel species listed in the agreement live in New Zealand.
Twenty-one of the 31 listed species are classified as at risk of extinction globally.
hamish.maclean@odt.co.nz
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