Plan of Action for the Waved albatross (Phoebastria irrorata): coordinating international action to achieve a favorable conservation status

FAVERO M & M TASKER

Cape Town

Congreso; IV International Albatross and Petrels Conference; 2008

UCT

The Waved Albatross Phoebastria irrorata breeds almost exclusively on Isla Española in the Galapagos Archipelago, and its at-sea distribution is restricted to the eastern Pacific Ocean mostly between the Galapagos and the adjacent mainland of South America from central Ecuador to central Peru, but occasionally ranging farther. A decrease in adult survival and a likely reduction in population size have been recently associated with increased mortality from incidental catch in fisheries and intentional catch for human consumption. These, together with other potential threats in breeding sites, led to a recent upgrading of the species under the IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered as it is considered to be facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. The Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) has developed, in conjunction with the Governments of Peru and Ecuador (who are Parties to the Agreement), a Plan of Action to provide managers, scientists and stakeholders with a set of recommended actions (along with a summary of the extant information for the species) needed to improve the conservation status of the species. The final goal of the Plan of Action is to increase the public awareness of the urgent conservation needs of Waved Albatrosses and to promote specific management, research, and education actions that will minimise human impacts, prevent further population declines and secure the future of this species. Phoebastria irrorata breeds almost exclusively on Isla Española in the Galapagos Archipelago, and its at-sea distribution is restricted to the eastern Pacific Ocean mostly between the Galapagos and the adjacent mainland of South America from central Ecuador to central Peru, but occasionally ranging farther. A decrease in adult survival and a likely reduction in population size have been recently associated with increased mortality from incidental catch in fisheries and intentional catch for human consumption. These, together with other potential threats in breeding sites, led to a recent upgrading of the species under the IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered as it is considered to be facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. The Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) has developed, in conjunction with the Governments of Peru and Ecuador (who are Parties to the Agreement), a Plan of Action to provide managers, scientists and stakeholders with a set of recommended actions (along with a summary of the extant information for the species) needed to improve the conservation status of the species. The final goal of the Plan of Action is to increase the public awareness of the urgent conservation needs of Waved Albatrosses and to promote specific management, research, and education actions that will minimise human impacts, prevent further population declines and secure the future of this species.