A long-term regional programme to restore seabirds in Auckland: challenges, findings and perspective

Gaia Dell’Ariccia¹, Maíra Fessardi¹ & Todd J. Landers¹

¹Research & Evaluation Unit (RIMU) – Auckland Council, 135 Albert Street, Auckland CBD, New Zealand (gaia.dellariccia@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz, maira.fessardi@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz, todd.landers@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz)

Auckland is an internationally recognised seabird hotspot. There are 25 seabird species known to breed in this region, of which 12 (50%) are New Zealand endemic species or subspecies. However, most of these birds are ‘threatened’ or ‘at risk’, requiring urgent restoration and conservation management. This led the Auckland Council to establish the first regional government seabird monitoring and research programme, which started in late 2018. This long-term (>10 years) programme aims to increase our knowledge on the presence, health, and trends of seabird populations in the Auckland Region and the factors affecting their population distributions and trends so as to advise and develop restoration actions to improve their conservation statuses. Here we will present our approach in setting the first region-wide seabirds programme, the challenges in dealing with more than 25 species across a wide area, including remote islands, the projects we developed across the region, the fieldwork activities and the results after the first 3 years of monitoring, including after the extreme weather events of the last summer, and the exciting perspectives for the restoration of thriving seabird populations.