Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L01285:reg:3:p10
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L01285
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 3 (pt 10/26)
Character Range: 96745–99785

loss of moisture for plants used in building nests. At Heard Island, climate change is having a dramatic impact including changes in weather patterns and glacial retreat, with vegetation and lagoons now existing where once there were sea-front, glacier snouts (Thost & Allison 2005, Thost & Truffer 2008).
Local climatic conditions have been shown to impact breeding success and the population status of the endemic Shy Albatross, and impacts are likely to increase in a changing climate (Thomson et al. 2015). A current doctorate research project aims to further the ecological understanding of Shy Albatross and the influence of climate variability and change to inform a decision-making framework to guide future conservation and management of the species (DPIPWE 2021b).

Storms and cyclones can seriously affect the nesting substrate, vegetation and wildlife on islands, in addition to affecting seabirds at sea. Such natural factors place additional pressures on seabird populations. At Pedra Branca significant storm surges can occur that overwash this Shy Albatross breeding site (DPIPWE 2021b). On the Sisters, the Pyramid and Forty-fours Islands in the Chatham Islands Group (New Zealand), a severe easterly storm in 1985 stripped the islands bare of vegetation and soil cover (Robertson 1998). Chatham Albatrosses breeding on these islands were unable to construct proper nest sites, and consequently egg mortality increased significantly. To compound the problem, most of the breeding population of the normally biennially nesting Northern Royal Albatross now nests annually owing to low breeding success, thus further limiting nest site availability (Robertson 1998, Taylor 2000).
The potential for degradation and loss of suitable habitat due to climate change is a threat to all Australian albatrosses and petrels. Management of this threat requires both domestic and international action. Long-term monitoring studies are needed to assess status and trends of albatross and petrel populations, as well as changes in their phenology and distribution. Monitoring of environmental conditions in parallel with albatross and giant petrel breeding parameters will help to determine any correlation. The potential for intervention options has been examined for the endemic Shy Albatross (Alderman & Hobday 2017). Interventions including artificial nests and use of avian-friendly pesticides have been shown to increase breeding success and are potential responses to assist the species to adapt to climate change (DPIPWE 2021b).

3.4           Marine threats
Fisheries interactions and bycatch
Threats from interactions between seabirds and fishing gear.

Seabirds are opportunistic predators and scavengers of surface and near surface prey (Harper et al. 1985), and follow fishing vessels to scavenge on discards and baited hooks, and prey on fisheries catch during hauling (Baker et al. 2002, Patrick et al. 2015, Collet et al. 2017, Collet & Weimerskirch 2020). Seabirds interact with fishing gear either by being struck by,