 |
|
| Mission
Statement
The Endangered Species Problem
|
Once thought to be extinct as a result of relentless feather hunting, this
largest of the three species of North Pacific albatrosses hung on by a
thread and a few were re-discovered in the late 1940s nesting on a small,
remote, volcanic island (Tori Shima) off southeast Japan. With the diligent
and dedicated work of Japanese ornithologist Hiroshi Hasegawa, the population
has grown from less than a hundred known birds to a recent population estimate
of slightly over 1000. Unfortunately, two serious threats remain for this
magnificent, beautiful species of seabird-- the only island where it currently
nests is an active volcano, and a major eruption at the wrong time of year
could devastate much of the population. Another more insidious threat comes
from long-line fishermen whose baited hooks result in the deaths of many
hundreds of albatrosses and other seabirds each year, at least a few of
which are Short-tailed Albatrosses. Reducing this type of "incidental"
take is a political problem, but the ESRC, with the encouragement of the
U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, is looking into taking action to establish
a viable colony of Short-tails at Midway Atoll, a U.S. National Wildlife
Refuge in the central Pacific. A few of these birds have occupied Midway
for many years, but are lost among the hundreds of thousands of Laysan
and Black-footed Albatrosses who nest there.
With
refined existing avicultural technology, and participation of Dr. Hasegawa
and the Japanese government, we hope to translocate eggs from Tori Shima
to Midway and hand-rear birds to form the nucleus of a distant and secure
colony for these great birds that once roamed the entire North Pacific
basin.
|
© 2000 Endangered Species Recovery Council. All rights reserved.
