Laysan Albatrosses breed on the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, and on islands off the coast of Japan and Mexico. They range widely across the North Pacific Ocean, from the Bering Sea to south of the Hawaiian Islands, and from Japan to the west coast of North America (Arata et al. 2009). Although they do not breed in Canada, they are regular yet rare visitors to the offshore oceanic waters of British Columbia. Highest numbers off Canada occur during the winter, suggesting that many of the visitors are either non-breeding adults or sub-adults (Kenyon et al. 2009); although some breeders will make chick-provisioning foraging trips to the west coast of North America (Arata et al. 2009). Data are not sufficient to determine a change in the population status in Canada relative to about 1970. With less than 1% of the global population occurring within Canadian waters each year, Canada’s responsibility for this visitor is very low. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.
The primary threats to Laysan Albatrosses in Canadian waters and beyond include incidental mortalities in commercial fisheries, bioaccumulation of contaminants, exposure to marine oil spills, and the ingestion of plastics (Awkerman et al. 2008, ACAP 2012a). These threats motivate ongoing efforts to define at-sea distributions and their overlap with longline fisheries, and to maintain regulations to minimize mortalities (Arata et al. 2009, Awkerman et al. 2008). Management on major breeding colonies in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands includes long-term population monitoring, eradication of non-native plant and mammal species, and abatement programs to reduce impacts of contaminants (Arata et al. 2009).
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:
Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.
