Research and management actions for the Antipodes Island population of Antipodean Albatross

AC 11 recognised the Antipodes Island population of Antipodean Albatross, Diomedea antipodensis, as an ACAP priority population for conservation management. Since the reporting to PaCSWG5 of the research and management actions undertaken by New Zealand, there has been substantial collaborative activity to develop and implement a conservation plan for this priority population. This has centred on the listing of D. antipodensis on Appendix I of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) in 2020, as proposed by New Zealand, Australia and Chile. The objective of the listing included to increase cooperation between Range States, RFMOs, ACAP, non-governmental organisations and other concerned parties to improve the uptake and effectiveness of bycatch mitigation use, including compliance monitoring and bycatch data collection, and to reduce the capture of Antipodean Albatross (and other seabird species) in longline fisheries. As part of the CMS listing process, New Zealand, Australia and Chile developed a plan for Concerted Action, which includes a full suite of actions to be taken by the CMS Party Range States and CMS Parties that are Members of, or engage with, key RFMOs. This paper provides details of the CMS Concerted Action plan for the Antipodean Albatross, implementation progress since 2020, further updates on the research and population status of the Antipodes Island population of Antipodean Albatross, as well as trial reporting using the proposed ACAP reporting template for priority populations.