Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L00775:reg:18:p23
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L00775
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 18 (pt 23/152)
Character Range: 102702–105935

have been detected in some Little Penguin populations in Western Australia (Cannell 2013) and South Australia (Colombelli-Négrel, 2016), and noted worldwide in penguin populations (Grilo et al 2016). In Little Penguin colonies monitored across the Gulf St Vincent, South Australia, blood parasites (Haemoproteus and Plasmodium spp.) were identified in 86 per cent of the individuals sampled and individuals with multiple infections had longer bills than those with single infection or non-infected individuals. A South Australian penguin monitoring program recorded Little Penguin mortality from multiple organ failure directly related to blood parasites (Tomo and Kemper 2016). There is a need to identify parasite infections, viruses and vectors across colonies to better assess their impact on population trends.
In Australia, the National Avian Influenza Wild Bird (NAIWB) Steering Group was established in January 2006 to facilitate collaboration between State and Territory programs and non-government organisations undertaking surveillance for avian influenza. Primary Industry agencies agreed to strengthen national surveillance for avian influenza in both poultry and wild birds.
Activities under the NAIWB Surveillance Program are conducted Australia- wide. The Program has two main components: Targeted surveillance: pathogen-specific, risk-based surveillance via convenience sampling of apparently healthy, live and hunter-killed wild birds; and General (passive) surveillance: investigation of significant, unexplained morbidity / mortality events in wild birds, including captive and wild birds within zoo grounds. During 2017, targeted surveillance activities included testing of samples for avian paramyxoviruses (APMVs), predominantly targeting APMV-1.

36 Wildlife Conservation Plan for Seabirds

Threats

Results from the NAIWB Surveillance Program are used to inform policy development and planning by Australian government and state/territory government agencies and contribute to Australia's National Animal Health Information System (NAHIS). The data also informs Australia's international reporting; and summary data are provided to industry at regular intervals through each sampling year.
Threat prioritisation
Each of the threats outlined above has been assessed to determine the risk posed to seabird populations (Table 3) using a risk matrix (Table 2). This identifies the threats that are likely to have greater impacts on seabird populations and therefore actions to mitigate these threats can be prioritised accordingly. The risk matrix considers the likelihood of an incident occurring and the consequences of that incident. Threats may act differently on different species and populations at different times of year, but the precautionary principle dictates that the threat category is determined by the group at highest risk. Population-wide threats are generally considered to present a higher risk.
The risk matrix uses a qualitative assessment drawing on peer reviewed literature and expert opinion. In some cases, the consequences of the threat are unknown. In these cases, the precautionary principle has been applied. Levels of risk and the associated priority for action are defined as