AC4 Doc 40 Agenda Item No. 7.1 Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels Fourth Meeting of Advisory Committee Cape Town, South Africa, 22 – 25 August 2008 ________________________________________________________________ Implementation Report – United Kingdom Author: United Kingdom 1/07/2008 AC4 Doc 40 Agenda Item No. 7.1 1/07/2008 AC4 Doc 40 Agenda Item No. 7.1 REPORT FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AGREEMENT ON THE CONSERVATION OF ALBATROSSES AND PETRELS (ACAP) 2006-2008 This is the second ACAP implementation report from the UK, and follows the reporting format prescribed in Annex 8 of the record of the third meeting of the ACAP Advisory Committee (AC3). The previous (first) report covered the period 2004-2006; this report covers the period June 2006 to March 2008, but includes earlier information where relevant for context. The UK is a breeding range state for ACAP. This report covers the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI) and the Tristan da Cunha group (the territories), which together support breeding populations of 12 ACAP species, including three endemic species (Table 1 below). The British Antarctic Territory (BAT) is included in the UK’s ratification of ACAP. However, information on the BAT and waters is not included in this report - except for brief inputs in some sections - on the basis that activities there are co-ordinated through the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS); including the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) Group of Experts on Birds and the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). To avoid duplication in reporting by ACAP Parties it is suggested that the most efficient and appropriate way for ACAP to receive information on Antarctica is through the ATS (e.g. CCAMLR, SCAR and the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP)) rather than directly through ACAP Parties. UK ACAP report 2006-08 3 AC4 Doc 40 Agenda Item No. 7.1 Table 1. ACAP species breeding in the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Tristan da Cunha and the British Antarctic Territory Island Group South Georgia Tristan da Cunha British Antarctic Falkland and the South Territory Sandwich Islands ACAP Species Islands Wandering albatross 9 Diomedea exulans 2 Tristan albatross 9 Diomedea dabbenena Grey-headed albatross 9 Thalassarche chrysostoma Black-browed albatross 9 9 Thalassarche melanophris 2 Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross 9 Thalassarche chlororhynchos 1 White-capped albatross 9 Thalassarche steadi Sooty albatross 9 Phoebetria fusca Light-mantled sooty albatross 9 Phoebetria palpebrata Southern giant petrel 9 9 9 9 Macronectes giganteus Northern giant petrel 9 Macronectes halli White-chinned petrel 9 9 Procellaria aequinoctialis 2 Spectacled petrel 9 Procellaria conspicillata Grey petrel 9 Procellaria cinerea 1 A male white-capped albatross is currently breeding in a mixed pair with a black-browed albatross at Bird Island, South Georgia. The chick hatched successfully and was still alive as of February 2008. It is as yet unknown whether the chick is a genuine hybrid, or resulted from an extra-pair copulation. 2 Endemic breeding species. 1. Species Conservation 1.1 Outline of planned actions for Action Plan AC Work Agreement national implementation over the next Reference Programme Reference three years Reference Following a workshop in March 2006, an assessment of the main tasks and actions required to improve the conservation status of albatrosses and petrels in the South Atlantic was published (see 1.5 below). The published report sets out objectives and priority tasks for each of the UK Overseas Territories. These recommendations will be reviewed, and translated into resource-based action plans. These planned actions include not only activities at the breeding sites and territorial waters managed or controlled by the Overseas Territories, but also international action to encourage conservation measures in the waters of other countries, and the high seas, which are used by albatrosses and petrels breeding in the South Atlantic Overseas Territories. UK ACAP report 2006-08 4 AC4 Doc 40 Agenda Item No. 7.1 Consistent with the ACAP Agreement and Action Plan, work will be focussed in the following areas: • management of breeding sites, • monitoring the status and trends of populations • analysis of foraging ranges and spatial and temporal overlap with fisheries • fishery-related issues, including improving the effectiveness of RFMOs, management/patrolling of the EEZ, FAO NPOA-S • development and implementation of bycatch mitigation • education and awareness • data management • sourcing funding for the implementation of albatross and petrel conservation projects 1.2 Measures to eliminate, control or Action Plan AC Work Agreement prevent introduction of non-native Reference Programme Reference species to breeding sites Reference 1.4 3 III (1) b) Falkland Islands A Biosecurity Strategy has been developed for the Falkland Islands, although not yet formally adopted by the Falkland Islands Government (FIG). The importing of items into the Falkland Islands is controlled by the Department of Agriculture: Senior Vet (fauna) and Senior Agricultural Advisor (flora); the day to day implementation of biosecurity policy is carried out by a Biosecurity Officer. The importing of live adult poultry into the Falkland Islands is not permitted. Greater focus and attention needs to be directed towards biosecurity and quarantine measures between islands of the Falklands group. In 2007 the FIG Ports and Harbours booklet was updated to highlight better relevant biosecurity measures, and a biosecurity poster was developed for the Falkland Islands Government Air Service (FIGAS) and helicopter services. However, a more strategic approach to biosecurity and quarantine policy and actions is required. In light of this, a review of the implementation of the Falkland Islands Biosecurity Strategy is in the process of being carried out by the South Atlantic Invasive Species Programme (SAIS), which is co-ordinated by Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) on behalf of the Governments of South Atlantic UK Overseas Territories (RSPB) (and funded by the EU’s EDF-9). The strategy is expected to be finalised within the next year. Further, Falklands Conservation is currently investigating the improvement of quarantine measures in relation to rodents (and possibly extended to other taxa by the SAIS), which will be used to provide recommendations for further stakeholder liaison so that practical actions can be identified for key sites. The SAIS programme will also be running a range of public awareness programmes to communicate to stakeholder groups, including military personnel, government, landowners and the general public, about the importance of biosecurity issues at an inter-island level. UK ACAP report 2006-08 5 AC4 Doc 40 Agenda Item No. 7.1 Falklands Conservation continues to eradicate rats from key islands. The OTEP- funded Beaver Island Group Restoration Project plans to eradicate rats from Governor Island – home to breeding southern giant petrels - in the austral winter of 2008. Falkland Islands stakeholders will in September 2008 consider the re- prioritisation of further islands for rodent eradication, using the presence of ACAP species amongst the range of criteria. South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands A feasibility study to consider the feasibility and implications of a brown rat Rattus norvegicus eradication programme has recently been completed by the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI) (Christie 2007). This study concluded that given the size of the task, it would be sensible to proceed in a phased approach, carrying out and evaluating a series of trials to determine what is practically possible for the island as a whole. The study also highlighted the importance of having an effective and robust biosecurity regime in place before initiating an eradication programme, and that islands that are currently rat-free, remain so. The South Georgia Heritage Trust is actively raising funds to implement the next phase of the feasibility process. GSGSSI has recently introduced a range of Biosecurity Protocols that are enforced through the permitting system, and covers all vessels landing passengers, crew, expedition staff and stores on South Georgia as well as outlining steps for proper inspection of cargo, its packing and consolidation prior to shipping from Stanley. The Biosecurity Protocols are being formally taken up in the GSGSSI legislative review currently underway (see 2.1 below), and will thus have legislative power. A dead brown rat washed up on a beach of Bird Island in July 2006. Although it was likely to be dead when it came ashore, immediately thereafter, staff of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) set up poison bait stations around the island as a precautionary measure, and also deployed indicator gnaw sticks. No signs of other rats have been observed, but BAS continue to monitor the situation. GSGSSI are in the process of studying the impact of reindeer Rangifer tarandus on the terrestrial ecology of South Georgia (most relevant for ACAP in terms of the impacts on the quality of nesting habitat for white-chinned petrels). A botanist conducted field work in December 2008 to compare the vegetation in grazed and ungrazed areas, and to build on and update previous field work. This work and further field-work planned for 2008/09 will be used to help inform the management policy for reindeers at South Georgia. South Georgia Surveys conducted rodent and reindeer surveys during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 ACAP Petrel Surveys of South Georgia, by recording geographical coordinates of over 10 000 giant petrel nest sites around the island and on a number of offshore islands, recording the presence and absence of introduced mammals at each site. Brown rats were discovered to have invaded a previously rat-free offshore island some time during the last 20 years. These data are stored in a GIS database and will be used to compile distribution maps for these species and to predict possible future population expansions.