Subject: [SEABIRD] West Indian seabirds in serious decline (fwd)
Date: Aug 11 20:47:11 2000
From: Jon. Anderson and Marty Chaney - festuca at olywa.net



Hi folks,

Once again the 'panacea' of ecotourism takes its toll....
I think that we, as birders, ought to be aware of the effects of our
actions on the individual birds. I also believe that we need to be aware
of our socio-economic impacts to the region we bird and our secondary
impacts on the birds and their environments.

Jon. Anderson
Olympia, Washington
festuca at olywa.net
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 11:22:52 SAST-2
From: John Cooper <jcooper at botzoo.uct.ac.za>
To: seabird at uct.ac.za

> BirdLife Jamaica
>
> Dedicated to the protection
> of Jamaica's Birds and the Environment
> 2 Starlight Ave., Kingston 6, Jamaica W.I.
> Tel/Fax: 876-927-1864; Email: birdlifeja at yahoo.com
> Visit us at Dept. of Life Sciences UWI,
> _____________________________________________________________________
> PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release Saturday, July 15, 2000
>
> WEST INDIAN SEABIRDS IN SERIOUS DECLINE
>
> A new publication by the Society of Caribbean Ornithology (SCO)
> entitled the "Status and Conservation of West Indian Seabirds", states
> that almost all of the regions seabirds are in serious decline. The
> publication, which represents the combined efforts of a large number
> of biologists working in the greater West Indian region and North
> America, is a direct result of the concerns expressed at a 1997
> International Seabird Workshop held at the SCO's annual conference in
> Aruba. The SCO is a non-profit organization whose goals are to
> promote the scientific study and conservation of Caribbean birds and
> their habitats, to provide a link among island ornithologists, to
> provide a written forum for research, and to provide data and
> technical aid to conservation groups in the Caribbean. The Society is
> the largest single organization devoted to wildlife conservation in
> the region.
>
> The book notes that of a total of 21 seabird species nesting in the
> West Indies, 6 are considered to be "Critically Endangered", 3 are
> "Endangered", 4 are "Vulnerable", and 2 species "Near Threatened".
> That is, more than half of the regions nesting seabird species are of
> current conservation concern. Furthermore, all six (6) of the
> regions endemic seabird taxa are listed among those species of
> conservation concern, namely; the Black-capped and Jamaican Petrel,
> Audubon's Shearwater, White-tailed Tropicbird, Brown Pelican and the
> Cayenne Tern.
>
> The major reasons cited for the declines are habitat destruction and
> disturbance, human consumption of eggs and birds, the introduction of
> predatory animals, chemical and solid waste/pollution. Additionally
> it was strongly noted that in a historical sense, the most recent
> reason for seabird declines was the regions growing tourist industry.
> The development of coastal habitats has increased, and isolated small
> islands, rocks and cays which were formerly safe nesting sites are now
> increasingly being developed as attractions and/or are visited by
> tourists seeking remote island experiences. The book notes that it
> is ironic that while West Indian seabird colonies have become
> attractions for the regions ecotourism industry, this in turn is
> contributing to their rapid demise.
>
> Participants of the 1997 Aruba meeting all agreed that the
> conservation of regional seabirds had been largely overlooked by the
> conservation movement and that research and standardized monitoring
> had been neglected throughout the region. The new publication, which
> is the SCO's first book, represents the most up to date account on the
> distribution and status of West Indian seabirds. The publication
> highlights serious conservation issues and discusses the steps vital
> to the long-term survival of this rapidly disappearing regional
> heritage and resource.
>
> Jamaican has regionally important colonies of nesting seabirds
> associated with the cays within its territorial waters such as the
> Morant and Pedro Cays. The Pedro Banks to the south of Jamaica is a
> regionally important site for the nesting of Masked Boobies, a species
> threatened throughout the West Indies. The total numbers of Masked
> Boobies in the region is estimated at no more than 1,700 breeding
> pairs, one quarter of which breed on cays of the Pedro Banks.
> Additionally, there has been increasing concerns about the Jamaican
> population of Brown Pelicans resident in Kingston Harbour. Kingston
> Harbour, the world's 7th largest natural harbour is home to an
> estimated 60 - 80 breeding pairs of Brown Pelicans. The colony, one
> of the largest in the region, has been affected by the pollution
> problems associated with the state of the harbour. This was evident
> in a recent survey by BirdLife Jamaica during which time birds killed
> solid waste such as old fishing nets and lines (among other discarded
> non bio-degradable plastics) were found dead in the Port Royal
> mangroves.
> *******************************
> Additional Notes to
> editors: (1) Jamaica possesses more endemic birds than any other
> island in the Caribbean and more than that found on almost any other
> oceanic island worldwide.
> (2) Jamaica's only endemic seabird, the Jamaican Petrel, has not been
> seen in over 100 years. Two specimens of this species are housed in
> the collections of the institute of Jamaica.
> (3) Eleven species of Jamaican birds are considered to be species that
> could become threatened with extinction in the near future. (4) BirdLife
> Jamaica, the only local organization specifically interested in the
> conservation of birds and their habitats is the Jamaican partner of the
> Society of Caribbean Ornithology.
>
> Contact Information
> BirdLife Jamaica
> Mailing address:
> 2 Starlight Ave,
> Kingston 6,
> Jamaica W.I.
>
> Tel & fax (876) 927-8444 (home)
> (Catherine Levy, President)
> or
> Tel (876) 924-4203 (home)
> (Leo Douglas, Media Relations Officer)
> e-mail: leodouglas at hotmail.com
> or leodouglas at cwjamaica.com
>
> ***************************************
> ______________________________________________________________________
>
> John Cooper
> Coordinator
>
> BirdLife International Seabird Conservation Programme
>
> based at the
> Avian Demography Unit
> Department of Statistical Sciences
> University of Cape Town
> Rondebosch 7700
> South Africa
>
> jcooper at botzoo.uct.ac.za
>
> Website: http://www.uct.ac.za/depts/stats/adu/seabirds
>
> Office Phone: +27-21-650-3426
> Office Fax: +27-21-650-3434
> Home Phone: +27-21-685-1357 (answering machine)
>
> Support the "Save the Albatross Campaign: Keeping Seabirds off the
Hook"
> of BirdLife International
> ________________________________________________
>