Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Wildlife Conservation Plan for Seabirds) Instrument 2022
28Wildlife Conservation Plan for Seabirds
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Historically, a number of seabird colonies were exploited for their eggs, chicks and adults. In northern Australia fleets of Malayan trepang fisherman took large numbers of boobies and frigatebirds as fresh meat (Serventy et al. 1971) in places such as Ashmore Reef, but this has since largely ceased with the establishment of a marine park at Ashmore Reef in 1983. Historically, Cocos (Keeling) Islanders took large numbers of seabirds at North Keeling, particularly Red-footed Booby (Sula sula) prior to establishment of Pulu Keeling National Park in 1995. Protection of migratory species under the EPBC Act has made it an offence to kill many of the birds that the Cocos-Malay community had traditionally harvested with illegal poaching of seabirds both in the park and around the southern atoll an ongoing problem. In 1998 the Australian Federal Police implemented a gun control program under the National Firearms Program Implementation Act 1998 for registered firearms in the territory. This has helped to reduce the level of poaching of protected seabirds.
In Tasmania, Little Penguin, Black-faced Cormorant (Phalacrocorax fuscescens) and Short-tailed Shearwaters (Ardenna tenuirostris) have previously been used illegally by crayfishers as bait for their pots (Serventy et al. 1971). Historic impacts also extended to Australasian Gannets (Morus serrator) breeding on Cat Island with the species eventually expatriated in the 1980s (Serventy et al. 1971). Cat Island had been the largest gannet colony in Australia before its demise. The practice of egg collection or “egging” still occurs in some parts of northern Australia by Indigenous communities and Norfolk Island but is not considered a widespread threat to any seabird population.
The Native Title Act 1993 identifies activities such as hunting and fishing as potential native title rights and interests and permits Native Title holders to hunt certain species for the purposes of satisfying their personal, domestic or non-commercial communal needs. In Tasmania, there is an annual take of Short-tailed Shearwater chicks which is regulated by the Tasmanian Government. There are three separately managed harvests namely:
Indigenous commercial harvest – undertaken on three islands; Trefoil Island off Tasmania’s north west coast in western Bass Strait; Great Dog (or Big Dog) Island and Babel Island, both in the Furneaux Island Group in Eastern Bass Strait. This harvest is licensed by the Tasmanian Government, but it does not undertake any monitoring on these sites or require harvesters to report numbers harvested. This industry is entirely self-managed with the community undertaking monitoring – no quotas are set by the Tasmaninan Government. However, the industry has been shown to self-manage, for example the community shut down harvest in 2014 due to low chick numbers. Season duration is restricted by the Tasmanian Government.
Section 28 - Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Wildlife Conservation Plan for Seabirds) Instrument 2022 - Wildlife Conservation Plan for Seabirds | Zoe
Indigenous cultural harvest – undertaken under permit on a couple of small sites including (in recent years) South Arm and Cape Queen Elizabeth on Bruny Island, both in southern Tasmania and at Seymour on Tasmania’s east coast. The Tasmanian Government monitors the South Arm colony, the number of harvesters is restricted, and daily bag limits apply. There is also a small unreported cultural harvest on indigenous-owned islands.
Recreational harvest – undertaken under license between 38 and 44 of Tasmania’s known 209 colonies (Skira et.al. 1996) and open to anyone eligible for purchasing a recreational license. Harvest areas include King Island and the Hunter Island Group both in western Bass Strait; the Furneaux Island Group in eastern Bass Strait and Tasmania’s West Coast, near Strahan. The season generally runs for 16 days with a daily bag limit of 25 birds (15 on the west coast).
Sooty Shearwaters (Ardenna grisea) and Grey-faced Petrels (Pterodroma gouldi) in New Zealand are subject to an annual harvest for their oil, feathers and meat (Rodriguez et al. 2019).
Wildlife Conservation Plan for Seabirds 29
Transport
Shipping
Ships may directly affect seabirds through their activities close to colonies or roost sites. For example, the bright deck lights of some ships may disturb and disorientate roosting seabirds as well as cause collision with birds (discussed further in Light Pollution below). Indirect influences relate to pollution from ships such as oil spills and garbage.
The use of boats or other watercraft close to breeding islands and roost site requires regular monitoring and assessment. Boat strike causing mortality of Little Penguins has been recorded in inshore coastal environments (Cannell et al. 2016).
Aircraft
The passage of aircraft, particularly those flying low over breeding islands, may adversely affect colonies through excessive disturbance. This has been documented in Australia, mainly in the Great Barrier Reef. Hicks et al. (1987) found that Sooty Terns and Common Noddies breeding on Michaelmas Cay took flight in reaction to the landing and departure of seaplanes within 400 m. On Lady Elliot Island in the southern Great Barrier Reef, small commercial aircraft regularly land on an airstrip which bisects the island. The airstrip is several meters from breeding colonies of Crested (Thalasseus bergii) and Bridled Terns (O. anaethetus) and Common Noddies. Apart from the occasional bird strike, no studies have been made on the potential impact on breeding success or displacement. Helicopters are used in the Great Barrier Reef to transport tourists to some resort islands. Frequency, approach and overflight height are all potential issues that impact nesting seabirds. Some species may be more sensitive to aircraft, whereas at sites regularly exposed to aircraft, the disturbance may be less severe due to habituation (Giese 1998; Giese and Riddle 1999).
In some areas, local no-fly guidelines have been implemented around nesting areas for White-bellied Sea Eagles to reduce the potential impacts of aircraft on individuals.
Drones
Drones are being increasingly used in innovative ways to enhance environmental research and conservation (Hodgson et al. 2018). Despite their widespread use for wildlife studies, there are few scientifically justified guidelines that provide minimum distances at which wildlife can be approached to minimize visual and auditory disturbance. Determining these distances is essential to ensuring that behavioural and survey data have no observer bias, and once understood, should form the basis of requirements for animal ethics and scientific permit approvals.
Drone disturbance may be species-specific, and it is possible that different avian taxa exhibit different behavioural disturbance thresholds. For example, Bevan et al. (2018) observed a colony of Crested Terns resting on a sand-bank displayed disturbance behaviours (e.g. flight response) when a drone was flown below 60 m altitude. At Raine Island National Park (RINP), Queensland, preliminary data suggests that other avian species are even more sensitive to drone disturbance than Crested Terns (Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service 2017). Official guidance for drone use within RINP indicates that drone altitudes of 80 and 120 m, respectively, are required to avoid disturbing Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster) and Common Noddy. These requirements suggest that drone disturbance may be species-specific, and that different avian taxa exhibit different behavioural disturbance threshold altitudes. Such thresholds for target species should be determined prior to initiating drone-based biological studies and monitoring.