Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L00775:reg:18:p44
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L00775
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 18 (pt 44/152)
Character Range: 162146–165071

ground in coastal forest, scrubland, or grassland (Powell et al. 2007). Nests consist of enlarged chambers at the end of burrows (1-3 metres in length), with the entrance often covered by plant material (Waugh et al. 2014). In the non-breeding season, it ranges north through the western Pacific Ocean to the seas off Japan, Russia and the Korean Peninsula, with small numbers reaching North America, and north through the Indian Ocean and west to the southern tip of Africa (del Hoyo et al. 1992, Rayner et al. 2011, Reid et al. 2013a, Bond and Lavers 2015).

Population Estimates and Trends
Brooke (2004) estimated the global population to number >650,000 individuals, but this has recently been revised downward following the identification of errors in the historical literature, and recent population surveys. Overall, the current global population is smaller than previously thought, comprising only around 74,000 breeding pairs (Lavers 2015). In Australia, the population on Lord Howe Island had been estimated at between 20,000-40,000 breeding pairs in 1978 (Fullagar and Disney 1981) and 17,462 breeding pairs in 2003 (Priddel et al. 2003). In 2009, the population was estimated at 16,267 pairs (95%-confidence interval 11,649–21,250), representing a decrease in the number of pairs of 6.8 per cent since 2003, equalling a decline of approximately 1.3 per cent per annum (Reid et al. 2013b). Recent estimates suggest the population is 22,654 breeding pairs (95%-confidence interval: 8,159–37,909) (Lavers et al. 2018).

In New Zealand, Robertson and Bell (1984) estimated the breeding population at 50,000-100,000 pairs in 1983, while Taylor (2000) considered the population to be at 25,000-50,000 pairs. Recent surveys suggest the population is closer to 10,000-15,000 pairs (Baker et al. 2010, Waugh et al. 2013). Despite the historical records and the current lack of data across all populations to assess the global population, there is enough evidence to suggest that the population has been affected by the fisheries operating in Australia (Tuck et al. 2003, Baker and Wise 2005, Tuck and Wilcox 2008, Richard and Abraham 2013) and the population on Lord Howe and Lady Alice Island (New Zealand) is decreasing (Tuck et al. 2003, Reid et al. 2013b, Waugh et al. 2013, Barbraud et al. 2014).

Wildlife Conservation Plan for Seabirds 75
Species profiles

Conservation Concerns and Actions
Records of bycatch in the Australian Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery (ETBF) have been high; 0.38 birds caught per 1,000 hooks and an estimated 8,972–18,490 individuals killed in the period 1998-2002 (Baker and Wise 2005), sufficient to decrease the population. Considerable levels of bycatch from gill-nets, purse-seines, longlines and inshore trawl have been recorded across the range (Japan, Australia, Russia and New Zealand) affecting the majority of the population.

Some mitigation methods have been put