Some of the world's rarest seabirds have a new level of international protection following adoption of a New Zealand-led proposal under the Convention on Migratory Species.
At the Convention's Conference of Parties (COP15) in Campo Grande, Brazil, Parties yesterday (NZ time) agreed to list flesh-footed shearwaters and 26 species of gadfly petrels under the Convention.
DOC Principal Science Advisor and seabird specialist Graeme Taylor says New Zealand proposed the listing to increase global awareness of these seabirds and provide an avenue for international cooperation to ensure their survival.
"Gadfly petrels are among the rarest seabirds in the world. They're named for their speedy, erratic, and weaving flight pattern, which resembles the behaviour of gadflies – biting insects that pester livestock," Graeme says.
"Unfortunately, gadfly petrels also face many threats at their breeding sites and on their migratory paths, such as invasive species, habitat loss, climate change and light pollution.
"We have a special interest in them because five of the now-listed gadfly petrel species breed on New Zealand's offshore islands, notably the critically threatened Chatham Island taiko, with fewer than 200 mature individuals left."
Flesh-footed shearwaters also breed on our offshore islands and are at risk from fisheries bycatch.
The listing will require strict protection for the most at-risk species and promote increased research and knowledge-sharing on the species and the threats they face. It also provides a catalyst for international bodies to enhance measures to address threats at-sea such as vessel lighting and fisheries bycatch rules on the high seas.
New Zealand worked closely with other Parties to the Convention to get the proposal through, particularly the countries where these birds breed, including Australia, Brazil, Chile, Cook Islands, Dominican Republic, Fiji and France.
Background information
Gadfly petrels are found in all ocean basins, with many species breeding in New Zealand and ranging throughout the Pacific region.
Five of the gadfly petrel species now listed under the Conventional on Migratory Species breed on New Zealand's offshore islands: Chatham Island taiko/tāiko (Nationally Critical), Chatham petrel/ranguru (Nationally Vulnerable), white-naped petrel, Cook's petrel/tītī and Pycroft's petrel. Flesh-footed shearwater/toanui (Relict) also breed on New Zealand's offshore islands.
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