Threats to royal albatross/toroa
Northern Royal albatross adult
and chick
Toroa have declined to the extent that they are listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and 'nationally vulnerable' by the Department of Conservation.
Their slow reproduction rates, changes in habitat and climate and some fishing practices make toroa vulnerable.
A storm on the Chatham Islands in 1985 destroyed the albatrosses' nesting habitat, reducing the percentage of nests producing fledglings to as low as 3% in some years. There are encouraging signs that their population may be recovering from this event.
Threats from fishing practices
Long-line fishing, drift-netting and trawling are a threat to a lot of seabird species. Many albatrosses discover that fishing vessels offer an easy food source and will follow boats to feed on fish bait and discards. They may take the food without coming to any harm, but some get caught in fishing gear.
While most fishing boats catch very small numbers of royal albatross, scientists are concerned that because there are so many fishing boats around the world, the total numbers caught may be having an impact on some albatross populations.
The New Zealand fishing industry is strongly supporting DOC initiatives such as Southern Seabird Solutions, which promote better fishing practises that do not catch seabirds. A combination of regulation and innovative techniques such as bird-scaring lines, weighted lines, underwater bait-setting devices and retention of offal can reduce the by-catch of albatrosses.
Threats at Taiaroa Head
The toroa nesting area on the headland at Taiaroa Head on the Otago Pensinsula is a 'hot spot' - a sheltered area where summer ground temperatures can reach 50 degrees celsius. These conditions aren't ideal for a genus that's far better adapted to subantarctic conditions, but they chose this place.
In earlier times both adults and chicks could die from heat exhaustion. There is now a sprinkler system that on hot days sprays water over the nest to cool the bird.
Hot conditions during hatching is a major problem as adults will stand up to cool themselves, leaving the egg exposed to risk of fly strike. Albatross chicks can take 6 days to complete the hatch. Any fly eggs or live maggots laid in the egg during this period will often result in a dead chick.
Staff now place a cottonwool ball soaked in peppermint essence in the nest - the herb's strong aroma masks the hatching chick's smell and acts as a fly deterrent. This has reduced fly-strike.
Predator traps for feral cats and mustelids are used for what is probably the longest running predator control programme in New Zealand.
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