Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2007B00392:body:0:p1
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2007B00392
Segment Type: other
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Character Range: 0–3048

NATIONAL RECOVERY PLAN
FOR THE
CHRISTMAS ISLAND FRIGATEBIRD
Fregata andrewsi

Richard Hill and Andrew Dunn
Birds Australia

Prepared by Richard Hill and Andrew Dunn, Birds Australia, for the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Heritage.

Published by the Commonwealth of Australia.

Made under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999: August 2004

ISBN 0 642 55008 5

© Commonwealth of Australia
This publication is copyright.  Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the Commonwealth.  Requests and inquiries regarding reproduction should be addressed to:
Assistant Secretary
Natural Resource Management Policy Branch
Department of the Environment and Heritage
GPO Box 787
CANBERRA ACT 2601

This plan should be cited as follows:
  Hill, R. and Dunn A. 2004. National Recovery Plan for the Christmas Island Frigatebird Fregata andrewsi. Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.

Disclaimer:
This recovery plan sets out the actions necessary to stop the decline of, and support the recovery of, the listed threatened species or ecological community.  The Australian Government is committed to acting in accordance with the plan and to implementing the plan as it applies to Commonwealth areas.

The plan has been developed with the involvement and cooperation of a broad range of stakeholders, but the making or adoption of this plan does not necessarily indicate the commitment of individual stakeholders to undertaking any specific actions.  The attainment of objectives and the provision of funds may be subject to budgetary and other constraints affecting the parties involved. Proposed actions may be subject to modification over the life of the plan due to changes in knowledge.

Copies available from: http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/recovery/list-common.html

Executive Summary

The Christmas Island Frigatebird is the rarest endemic seabird on Christmas Island and is listed as Vulnerable under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). In Australia, it is confined to Christmas Island where it breeds in terrace forests in only three small areas totaling about 170 ha in extent. The total population size, last estimated in the early 1980's was approximately 1620 pairs. Limits to total population size are unknown, however considerable areas of former breeding habitat have been cleared and the species was likely more numerous prior to this loss of habitat. Breeding areas of the Christmas Island Frigatebird are now threatened by the invasive Crazy Ant. These ants potentially threaten individual breeding birds as well as the nesting trees. Crazy Ants pose an imminent, extreme risk to the conservation of this and all Christmas Island birds. Much of the breeding colony areas of the Christmas Island Frigatebird lie outside the national park and do not have any formal protection. Other threats to the conservation of