Short-tailed Albatross
(Phoebastria albatrus)

Summary

Picture of bird
© James Lloyd - License
For additional photos and vocalizations, visit Dendroica. (Link opens in a new window.)

The majority of Short-tailed Albatrosses nest on one volcanic Japanese island. The species ranges throughout most of the North Pacific, including off the coast of British Columbia, where they are likely a year-round visitor. Once very common visitors to the British Columbia coast, the slaughter of birds for the feather trade reduced the population to a few individuals. By 1949, the species was thought to be extinct but it persisted, thanks to ~50 immature birds being at sea during the final harvests. Since then, the global population has rebounded to ~3,500 individuals (USFWS 2012) and the species continues to recover (Kenyon et al. 2009). Though data are insufficient to determine any change in the population observed in Canadian waters relative to 1970, numbers are thought to have increased over the last 10 years. The species was re-assessed as Threatened by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada due to its small population size (COSEWIC 2013g). This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.

Designations

Listing of the main designations for the species
DesignationStatusDateSubspecies, population
COSEWIC (Canada)Threatened2013 
SARA (Canada)Threatened2014 
IUCN (Global)Vulnerable 2012 
Bird Conservation Region StrategyPriority Species2013 

Population status

Geographic areaStatusReliability
CanadaData DeficientData Deficient
 

Population estimate

CanadaNot yet available
 

Distribution maps

 

Migration strategy, occurrence

Seasonal visitor

Responsibility for conservation of world population

CanadaTo be determined

Conservation and management

The primary threats to Short-tailed Albatrosses in Canadian waters and beyond, include incidental mortalities in commercial fisheries, bioaccumulation of contaminants, exposure to marine oil spills, ingestion of plastics and other marine contaminants (COSEWIC 2013g). With their wide-ranging oceanic distribution and the potential for a single natural or human-induced catastrophe to affect nearly the entire breeding population, the successful recovery of this species requires coordinated international conservation.

 

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

  • conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
  • stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
  • management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
  • other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

BCRs, marine biogeographic units, and sub-regions in which the species is listed as a priority
RegionSub-region and priority type
Northern Pacific RainforestNorthern Pacific Rainforest, sub-region and priority type: Pacific and Yukon Region
 

References