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Falklands Conservation |
Albatross In Trouble
The world's albatross population is facing dramatic declines. New research* in the the last month by Falklands Conservation has shown a 30% fall in population over the last 20 years, at both northern and southern breeding colonies in the Falkland Islands. Numbers on Beauchene Island have dropped from 160,000 pairs in 1981-82 to just 101,000 this breeding season. Similar counts carried out on Saunders Island appear to have the same trends.
An appeal is now being launched to fund in-depth research to identify the reasons for the decline and an Island-wide strategy to reverse it.
It coincides with an international campaign to save global albatross populations entitled 'Keeping the World Seabirds off the Hook' launched by BirdLife International, the leading global conservation body working in over 100 countries, of which Falklands Conservation is an International Representative.
"This is the most staggering decline" say Becky Ingham, Conservation Officer for Falklands Conservation. "We are deeply concerned and are urgently seeking funding to study our albatross populations more fully. We need to understand what is going on in the South Atlantic where the albatross are concentrated and why this decline is happening".
The Black-browed Albatross, with a wingspan of over two metres (8 feet), is the Falklands largest and most beautiful seabird, attracting tourists from all over the world to the Islands. It is also one of the most important species breeding in the Islands which hold three-quarters of its entire global breeding population.
* This research was supported by grant aid from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
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Patron: HRH The Duke of York CVO ADC Member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature | BirdLife International Representative |