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SCAR Circular No. 774 (electronic only)

9th January 2008

To: National Committees, Delegates and Alternate Delegates

Subject: Status of the Southern Giant Petrel in the Antarctic Region A SCAR Workshop, Scott Polar Research Institute, May 19-20, 2008

Dear Colleagues,

A SCAR Workshop on the "Status of the Southern Giant Petrel in the Antarctic Region - Reaching Consensus for an IUCN Endangerment Criterion Listing at the Regional Level to be Presented to the Committee for Environmental Protection in 2008" will be held at the Scott Polar Research Institute, in Cambridge, UK, on May 19-20, 2008.

Data on the status of the Southern Giant Petrel are required in order for SCAR to be able to make an assessment of the status of this population and to present the results to the meeting of the Committee on Environmental Protection during the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in Kiev in June 2008.

Your assistance is urgently required, as explained below.

A. Introduction

At XXIX ATCM SCAR tabled WP038 proposing that, on the basis of an earlier review by Birdlife International, the Southern Giant Petrel met the global criteria for the Vulnerable category of endangerment and should be designated as Specially Protected Species. However, after the paper was submitted new survey data became available from populations outside the Antarctic Treaty area, which indicated that a re-assessment of global endangerment was necessary in the light of the substantially increased global population. SCAR recommended that the proposal be re-submitted at XXX ATCM after discussion with Birdlife International.

For XXX ATCM SCAR submitted a revised proposal (WP01) for a regional listing of the Southern Giant Petrel as a Specially Protected Species, based on application of the IUCN regional criteria for assessment of endangerment as modified for use within the Antarctic Treaty Area (WP26). The proposal was based on data available to SCAR and to the global community synthesized from several sources.

Subsequent to the submission of WP01, it was made known that an unpublished data set existed that suggested a substantial increase (doubling) of the population at the South Orkney Islands between 1984 and 2006. Given that the large majority of the Antarctic population of the Southern Giant Petrel is found on the South Orkney and South Shetland islands, SCAR immediately requested additional, unpublished information and advice from a range of scientists working in these areas, and from other organizations which have an interest in this species. SCAR also re-reviewed all available information in the public domain concerning this species in light of these data and the opinions expressed. On the basis of this information SCAR concluded that it could not offer the CEP a clear, scientifically defensible statement about the status of the Antarctic regional population of the Southern Giant Petrel, and submitted this view as a 'non-paper' to the Treaty parties attending the CEP meeting.

SCAR proposed to resolve the questions as best possible by means of a workshop on the species and to provide a report back and recommendation to XXXI ATCM (CEP XII) in 2008. This proposal was accepted by the parties at the CEP.

The current proposed workshop is the outcome of this process.

B. Aim of the Workshop

The sole aim of the workshop is to reach consensus on whether, using the IUCN regional criteria for assessment of endangerment, the Southern Giant Petrel should be listed as a Specially Protected Species under Annex II of the Protocol on Environmental Protection.

C. Procedure

The IUCN criteria for the assessment of endangerment require data either on population size, geographic range, or population change, or a quantitative modelling assessment of population viability. Their application to the Southern Giant Petrel therefore require that these data are available. Moreover, given the extent and terrain of the region within which the assessments are being made and the form that data might take, a description of the way in which counts were made, the life stage counted, and the confidence that might be applied to these counts must also be available. The latter includes either a statistical estimate of variance or departure from a true mean (e.g. standard error) and/or a professional assessment of likely bias (difference between real value and estimate thereof) and precision (extent to which estimates are repeatable).

A thorough, multiregional, multinational assessment of the population sizes and trends of the Southern Giant Petrel was made by Patterson and colleagues (unpublished manuscript submitted to Marine Ornithology), which included data up to the year 1999. Subsequent assessments (see discussions by BirdLife International) indicated additional populations or increases in populations, but data were contested and contrary opinions based on sub-regional assessments continue to be heard.

The procedure to be followed will be to request researchers/organizations to submit information on the current and past numbers of Southern Giant Petrels at the locations where they work to update the information on the Southern Giant Petrel regional population size and trend. Information from areas outside the Treaty Area may also be submitted. Submissions should take the form presented in Table 1 (modified from Patterson et al.). They should include an opinion by the researcher/organization on the current status and likely trend of the population, and current threats and their trends based on the data or on experience or both.

These data will be collated by the SCAR office in Cambridge and then sent to workshop attendees in advance of the meeting.

At the meeting, the data will be assessed and the IUCN regional criteria for the assessment of endangerment will be applied. A recommendation to the Committee for Environmental Protection will then be drafted.

Given the timing of activities, a Working Paper outlining the above steps and the history of the process will be submitted within the timeframe required for XXXI ATCM. However, the timing of the workshop will mean that a final recommendation cannot be included. The recommendation will be submitted as a late Information Paper to the CEP, translated by the SCAR Office into as many of the Treaty Languages as is feasible given the timeframe.

D. Data Confidentiality

None of the data and opinions submitted to SCAR will be used for any purpose other than that outlined above. SCAR agrees not to publish any of the data or make it available in any form without the express permission of all data owners. However, CEP parties might wish to inspect the data and SCAR will make a hard copy available at the XXXI ATCM for inspection purposes, with the proviso that the data are not owned by SCAR.

E. Timing, Location and Attendees

The Southern Giant Petrel Regional Assessment Workshop will be held in Cambridge, U.K. at the Scott Polar Research Institute on the 19th and 20th of May 2008.

All researchers or organizations working on Southern Giant Petrel are invited to submit data for the assessment process. Any researcher wishing to attend or organization wishing to send a representative is welcome to do so. SCAR has limited funds available to facilitate travel for those data holders who can make a significant contribution to the assessments.

Expressions of interest for attendance should be submitted by no later than February 29th 2008 to the Executive Director of SCAR (Dr. Colin Summerhayes – cps32@cam.ac.uk).

Data in the form required by Table 1 should be submitted as an Excel Spreadsheet using Table 1's column headings by no later than 11 April 2008 to Dr. Colin Summerhayes (cps32@cam.ac.uk).

I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours Sincerely,

Dr. Colin Summerhayes
Executive Director
Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR)
Scott Polar Research Institute
Lensfield Road
Cambridge CB2 1ER
UK
Tel: +44 (0)1223 336542
Mob: +44 (0)7834269997
Fax: +44 (0)1223 336549
E-mail: cps32@cam.ac.uk
Web: http://www.scar.org

Table 1. Data submission form Southern Giant Petrel Regional Assessment