Marine Species Conservation
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'Seabirds' is a general term used to collectively describe any species of bird which spends a substantial part of its life foraging and breeding in the marine environment. Birds considered to be seabirds include gulls, terns, albatrosses, petrels, shearwaters (muttonbirds), cormorants, gannets and boobies.
In Australia, over 200 seabird species are protected under the EPBC Act as listed marine species. It is an offence to kill, injure, take, trade, keep, or move any member of a listed marine species on Australian Government land or in Commonwealth waters without a permit. Where these seabirds occur in State/Territory waters, or on State/Territory land, relevant State /Territory legislation applies. In addition, over 30 seabird species are listed as threatened under the EPBC Act. This affords them greater protection in Commonwealth areas and requires that a recovery plan for the species be developed. Many species, particularly the albatross, petrels and shearwaters, are known to be at risk of extinction through the influences of human activities, principally commercial fishing.
Seabirds spend much of their lives roaming the oceans in search of prey. Most species tend to forage on their own, though large feeding flocks will gather at rich or passing food sources. Squid, fish and krill are common sources of food. Birds are known to follow fishing vessels, aggressively competing for discarded fish and baits.
Many seabirds, such as albatrosses and petrels have long life spans with some individuals known to live for more than 60 years. They have low rates of natural mortality and low rates of mortality among their offspring. Most species achieve sexual maturity at 5-12 years of age and breed in colonies on remote islands, with the pair-bond being reinforced by elaborate courtship displays. While some species breed annually, others breed only every second or third year.
Parental duties are shared by both sexes. Petrels and shearwaters nest in simple scrapes or in a burrow or natural hole. Albatrosses nest in the open and, where nest material is available, build large bowl-shaped nests. Each pair lay a single, large (relative to body size), white egg which both parents incubate for 35-85 days in alternating shifts. After hatching, chicks are brooded for a short period until they are able to regulate their own temperature. After this period the chick is generally left alone, with parents returning only to provide food. Both parents feed the chick until it fledges at 110-304 days (depending on the species).
Seabirds occur widely across the world's oceans. Twenty-two of the world's 24 albatross species occur in the Southern Hemisphere. Nineteen of these species occur in Australian waters, and five of these also breed in Australia. Many species, such as Grey-headed Albatrosses, are extremely dispersive, spending most of their time over the surface waters of the High Seas. In contrast, others, like adult Shy Albatrosses, tend to be sedentary, regularly foraging over the coastal waters of southern Australia throughout their adult lives.
Four areas within Australian waters have been listed as critical habitat for albatross. Macquarie Island is listed as critical habitat for the Wandering and Grey-headed Albatrosses. Albatross Island, Pedra Branca and the Mewstone are listed critical habitat for the Shy Albatross. See the register of critical habitat for additional information
Many other seabirds species in Australia breed at coastal mainland sites or on offshore islands, however may forage widely over both Australian and international waters.
Past threats to seabirds include being killed for meat, eggs and feathers. Today, modification of breeding habitats, oil spills and introduced feral animals are among the threats that can impact considerably on seabird populations. More recently, the global expansion of longline fisheries has begun to pose the greatest overall threat to seabirds.
Longline fishing is a method used to target finfish and shark species. A longline consists of a main line with numerous baited hooks attached to branchlines. The line can be set parallel to the surface or on the sea-bed. The number and type of hooks and the length of the branchlines depend on the target species. Longlines can be up to 100km long and have up to 10 000 hooks. Each year thousands of seabirds are accidentally killed on longline hooks when birds ingest baited hooks during the setting or hauling of the longline. Birds hooked are subsequently pulled under the water by the weight of the line and drown. The level of mortality that occurs in longline fisheries is not sustainable for many populations of seabirds.
However, this threat can be greatly minimised by modifying fishing practice and adopting seabird by-catch mitigation measures. These 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. Adoption of these measures has now virtually eliminated seabird by-catch in some fisheries.
During the last decade Australia has essentially approached seabird conservation in three main ways:
Before legislative protection can be adequately applied to threatened animals, it is first necessary to identify those at risk. In 1992, Department of the Environment and Heritage funded the preparation of a global review of albatross populations and threats. This review assessed all threats known to be impacting albatross populations and led to the subsequent listing of a number of species as threatened under Australian Government legislation. In response to this listing, the Australian Government has developed a Recovery Plan for 19 species of albatrosses and two giant-petrels, which focuses on research and key actions to reduce land-based threats to these species. In addition, a recovery plan has developed for another 10 species of seabird listed as threatened under Australian Government legislation.
Three of the principal threats to seabirds are listed as Key Threatening Processes under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) - longline fishing operations, predation by feral cats, and competition and land degradation by feral rabbits. Threat abatement plans have been prepared and implemented to address these threats. In particular, the Threat Abatement Plan for the Incidental Catch (or by-catch) of Seabirds During Oceanic Longline Fishing Operations aims to reduce by-catch of seabirds in Australian longline fisheries by 95% within 5 years.
Conservation of highly migratory species such as albatrosses and petrels cannot be achieved by one country acting independently of other nations that share the same species populations. Australia has endeavoured to encourage other countries to take actions on an international level to complement policy and actions taken nationally. This has been pursued through international fora such as the Convention for Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS or Bonn Convention), and a number of fishing fora including the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).
Perhaps the most important initiative taken is the Agreement for the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP), which was opened for signature in June 2001 in Canberra, Australia.
For more information about seabirds, email the Department of the Environment and Heritage.