Conservation Issues
Seabirds are amongst the most globally threatened of all groups of birds and many species have extensive at-sea distributions that sees threats impacting them across the world’s ocean basins in addition to land-based threats. Bycatch or incidental mortality in industrial longline, trawl or artisanal fisheries, often both in national and international waters, represents a major threat to many species and populations globally. Mitigation measures are available that reduce bycatch in most types of fisheries, but some management bodies are yet to make these mandatory, and the current levels of implementation and monitoring of compliance are often inadequate. In addition, there are insufficient observer or electronic monitoring programs in place collecting robust data on bycatch rates.
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Threats at breeding colonies affect fewer species than bycatch; however, the impacts of predation by introduced species, including feral cats (Felis catus), rats (Rattus spp.) and house mice (Mus musculus), are severe for some breeding populations. This is particularly of concern on oceanic islands supporting single-island endemics and/or small populations.
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An emerging threat to Australasian seabirds is the impact of offshore wind farms. Generating electricity from offshore wind has significant benefits in emissions reductions. However, it also brings potential risks to seabirds that are currently being evaluated in the Australasian context. These include deaths as a result of direct collisions with turbines, and displacement away from wind farms caused by disturbance from construction and operational activities, together with barrier effects that adversely affect movements and migration routes.
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Seabirds are also expected to be impacted by the ‘predicted changes to the Earth system brought about by climate change. Impacts are predicted to occur at breeding sites and through changes in prey availability caused be projected sea-level rises, increasing ocean acidity, warming oceans and increased frequency of extreme weather events.
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Because of the wide-ranging distribution of many seabird species, there is acknowledgement that conservation of many seabirds cannot be achieved without international cooperation and concerted management actions that cover both national and international waters. For example, conservation issues specific to albatrosses and petrels led to the listing of many species on the appendices of the multi-lateral Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) and subsequent ratification of the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) in 2004. Both the CMS and ACAP meet regularly and seek cooperation of Parties to reduce the threats to seabirds. Unless these efforts are intensified and maintained the future prospects for many species of seabirds will remain bleak.
