Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels


The Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels is a legally binding international treaty signed in 2001 and entered into force on 1 February 2004 when South Africa ratified as the fifth Party to the agreement.
It was created in order to halt the drastic decline of seabird populations in the Southern Hemisphere, particularly albatrosses and petrels procellariids. Albatrosses and petrels are threatened by introduced species on their breeding islands, pollution, and being taken as bycatch by longline fisheries, as well as by trawl and gillnet fisheries. The agreement requires that measures be taken by signatory governments to reduce bycatch; protect breeding colonies; and control and remove introduced species from breeding sites, especially on islands.
Currently, ACAP protects all the world's albatross species, seven Southern Hemisphere petrel and two shearwater species. The agreement marks an increasing international commitment to protect albatrosses and petrels.

Organization

The Executive Secretary of ACAP is Marco Favero, who is supported by a Science Officer, Wiesława Misiak, and an Information Officer, John Cooper. The secretariat is located at 119 Macquarie Street, Hobart in the state of Tasmania, Australia.
The agreement entered into force on 1 February 2004. National representatives of the signatory countries meet regularly.
LocationDate
Hobart, Australia10-12 November 2004
Christchurch, New Zealand13-17 November 2006
Bergen, Norway27 April - 1 May 2009
Lima, Peru23-27 April 2012
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain4-8 May 2015

Nine meetings of ACAP's Advisory Committee have been held to date, the last in La Serena, Chile from 9 to 13 May 2016. The Advisory Committee is currently supported by three working groups for Taxonomy, Seabird Bycatch, and Population and Conservation Status.

Provisions

ACAP helps countries to implement species action plans, control the expansion of non-native predators, introduce measures reducing bycatch of seabirds, and support research in the sphere of the effective conservation of petrels and albatrosses. To this end it has published ACAP Species Assessments, booklets, mitigation factsheets, and a number of ACAP Conservation Guidelines, including for biosecurity; eradication of introduced mammals; translocation; and census and survey methods.
One of the agreement's main activities is to provide expert advice on seabird bycatch mitigation to fisheries managers, both in domestic and high seas fisheries.

Species covered by the Agreement

The following 31 species of albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters are listed by the agreement.
List of albatrosses covered by the agreement:
List of petrels and shearwaters covered by the agreement:
The following 13 countries are parties to the agreement:
Canada, Namibia, and the United States regularly send observer delegations to ACAP meetings, but have not as yet acceded to the agreement. Japan has sent delegations in some years.