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You are in:  Home » Publications » Bulletins » Bulletin 153 » ASPA 160

Management Plan for Antarctic Specially Protected Area No. 160

Frazier Islands, Windmill Islands, Wilkes Land, East Antarctica

• Bulletin 153 Index Page
• Measure 2
• ASPA 153
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• ASPA 160
• ASPA 161
• Measure 3

1. Description of Values to be Protected

The Frazier Islands, a group of three islands located approximately 16 km offshore from the Australian Casey Station in East Antarctica (Map A) at 66°13’S 110°11’E, is a breeding locality for Southern Giant Petrels Macronectes giganteus.

Macronectes giganteus has a world population of approximately 62,000 individuals and is inferred to have sustained a population reduction of at least 20% over the last 60 years. The species is in continued rapid decline. The population of Southern Giant Petrels at the Frazier Islands is the largest known in the continental Antarctic. The most recent estimate of the population was 248 breeding pairs in 2001–02. Breeding colonies of Southern Giant Petrels are found on all three of the Frazier Islands (Nelly, Dewart and Charlton islands).

The Frazier Islands are one of only four known breeding localities of Southern Giant Petrels around the coastline of continental Antarctica and are the only site in nearly 3000 km of coastline between Davis station and Dumont d’Urville. Chicks from the Frazier Islands disperse throughout the Southern Hemisphere, with banded chicks recovered in New Zealand, South America, Easter Island, and South Africa within nine months of departure.

2. Aims and Objectives

• minimise human disturbance to the breeding colonies of Southern Giant Petrels to assist stabilisation and recovery of the population in the wild;
• conserve the Frazier Islands as a reference area for future comparative studies;
• minimise the possibility of the introduction of alien plants, animals and microbes; and
• preserve the Frazier Islands by limiting visits during the Southern Giant Petrel breeding season.

3. Management Activities

• one research visit should be conducted to census the seabird populations in each 5 year period and monitor the breeding populations;
• information on the Frazier Islands ASPA shall be prominently displayed at Casey Station and copies of this Management Plan shall be available at the station and shall be provided to ships;
• clothing and equipment shall be cleaned before entering the Area; and
• the Management Plan shall be reviewed at least every five years and updated/modified as required.

4. Period of Designation

Designation is for an indefinite period.

5. Maps

Map A: Windmill Islands, showing location of Frazier Islands and protected areas in the region
Map B: Frazier Islands, Antarctic Specially Protected Area showing distribution of nesting sites.

6. Description of the Area

6(i) Geographical co-ordinates, boundary markers and natural features

The Frazier Islands are located at latitude 66°14’S, longitude 110°10’E (Map A). The three islands (Nelly, Dewart and Charlton Island) lie in the eastern part of Vincennes Bay approximately 16 km to the west north west of Casey Station. Nelly Island is the largest of the three islands (approximately 0.35 km2 in area). The ASPA comprises the entire terrestrial area of the three islands, with the seaward boundary at the low water mark (Map B). The total area of the Frazier Islands ASPA is approximately 0.6 km2. There are no boundary markers.

Nelly Island supports the largest and most varied avian community of the three islands, with records indicating that Snow Petrels (Pagodroma nivea), Cape Petrels (Daption capense), Antarctic Petrels (Thalassoica antarctica), Wilson’s Storm-Petrels (Oceanites oceanicus), Southern Fulmars (Fulmarus glacialoides), and South Polar Skuas (Catharacta maccormicki) all nest on Nelly Island. South Polar Skua nests have also been found on Dewart Island (Table 3, Map B).

In 1961/62, 100 Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) nests were reported in one colony on Nelly Island. During the 1989/90 season, three colonies were recorded on the northwest ridge of Nelly Island with a total of 554 nests.
Recorded sightings of marine mammals at the Frazier Islands are scarce but have included Weddell Seals (Leptonychotes weddellii), an Orca (Orcinus orca), and Leopard Seals (Hydrurga leptonyx).

Vegetation recorded at Nelly Island comprises at least 11 species, including lichens Buellia frigida, Usnea antarctica, Rhizoplaca melanophthalma, Candelariella flava, (a terrestrial alga Prasiola crispa, an indeterminate green crust which is thought to be ‘a mixture of fungal hyphae and green alga Desmococcus olivaceus’, and several species of snow algae including Chlorococcum sp., Chloromonas polyptera, Chlorosarcina antarctica, Prasiococcus calcarius. There are no published records of terrestrial invertebrates on the Frazier Islands.

The topography is characterised by steep cliffs rising from the sea. The highest peak on Nelly Island is approximately 65 metres. There are broad ‘U’ shaped ice-filled valleys on both Nelly and Dewart Islands.

The geology is characterised by layered schists and finely crenulated gneisses of the Windmill metamorphics developed as a result of two phases of metamorphism at 1400–1310 Ma and about 1200 Ma of pre-existing volcanics, greywacke and shale. On Nelly Island there are steep cliffs of biotite-gneiss. A red sandstone erratic is located in the ‘U’ shaped valley on Nelly Island below the 30 m contour. Highly polished glacial striae in the gneisses provide evidence of recent glaciation and indicate the former direction of ice flow of 265º and 280º T. Surface sediments consist of fine gravelly sand located in bedrock depressions.

6(ii) Special Zones within the Area

There are no special zones within the Area.

6(iii) Location of Structures within the Area

There are no structures within or adjacent to the Area.

6(iv) Location of other Protected Areas within close proximity

The following Protected Areas are located on the Budd Coast near the Frazier Islands:

• North-east Bailey Peninsula, Antarctic Specially Protected Area No. 135 (66°17’S, 110°32’E);
• Clark Peninsula, Antarctic Specially Protected Area No. 136 (66º15’S, 110º36’E); and,
• Ardery Island and Odbert Island, Antarctic Specially Protected Area No. 103, (66º22’S, 110º30’E).

7. Permit conditions

Visits to the Frazier Islands ASPA are prohibited except in accordance with a Permit issued by an appropriate National Authority. National Antarctic Programs operating in the region shall consult with each other to ensure that the frequency of visits does not exceed that permitted in the Management Plan. Permits to enter the Area may be issued during the non-breeding period for Southern Giant Petrels, specifically from 1 May to 30 September, for compelling scientific research that cannot be undertaken elsewhere, or for essential management purposes consistent with the objectives and provisions of the Management Plan. Permits are only to be issued for research that will not jeopardise the ecological or scientific values of the Area, or interfere with existing scientific studies.

Only one Permit is to be issued for the purpose of conducting a seabird census in each 5 year period. Censuses are to be conducted from outside the Giant Petrel colonies, wherever practicable. The maximum time to be spent on the Frazier Islands is 12 hours in total. Only the two persons named in the Permit may be ashore within the Area at any time.

The Permit or a copy shall be carried at all times.

7(i) Access to, and movement within or over the Area

• Vehicles are prohibited within the Area:
• access to the Frazier Islands is by watercraft only. Landings must be made at the designated sites. Boats must be left at the shoreline. Only personnel who are required to carry out scientific/management work in the Area should leave the landing site;
• any movement within the Area is to be consistent with the minimum approach distances to nesting birds. Persons shall not approach closer than is necessary to obtain census data or biological data from any nesting Southern Giant Petrels, and in no case closer than 20m;
• noise levels including verbal communication are to be kept to a minimum. The use of motor-driven tools and any other activity likely to generate noise is prohibited during the period (1 October to 30 April).
• landing of aircraft in the Area is prohibited.

7(ii) Activities which are, or may be conducted within the Area, including restrictions on time and place

The following activities may be conducted within the Area from 1 May to 30 September as authorised in a Permit;

• scientific research that will not jeopardise the values or the ecosystems of the Area;
• management activities, including monitoring; and
• sampling, should be the minimum required.

7(iii) Installation, modification, or removal of structures

No permanent structures are to be erected in the Area.

7(iv) Location of field camps

Camping is prohibited in the Frazier Islands ASPA.

7(v) Restrictions on materials and organisms that may be brought into the Area

• Fuel is not to be depoted on the islands. Boat refuelling is permitted at shoreline landing sites.
• No poultry products are to be taken into the Area.
• No herbicides or pesticides may be taken into the Area.
• Any chemical shall be removed from the Area. Use of radio-nuclides or stable isotopes is prohibited.
• No animals, plant material or microorganisms shall be deliberately introduced into the Area and precautions shall be taken against accidental introductions. All equipment and clothing should be thoroughly cleaned before entering the Area.

7(vi) Taking of or harmful interference with native flora and fauna

• Taking of, or harmful interference with, native flora and fauna, is prohibited unless specifically authorised by permit.
• Disturbance of Southern Giant Petrels should be avoided at all times.

7(vii) Collection or removal of anything not brought into the Area by the Permit Holder

• Material may only be collected or removed from the Area as authorised in a Permit and should be limited to the minimum.
• Material of human origin may be removed unless the impact of the removal is likely to be greater than leaving the material in situ.

7(viii) Disposal of waste

No wastes are to be deposited or left in the Area.

7(ix) Measures that may be necessary to ensure that the aims and objectives of the management plan continue to be met

• A census of Southern Giant Petrels should be conducted in each 5 year period.
• Time spent at the Frazier Islands to conduct a bird census should be completed in a 12 hour period.
• Novel GPS data shall be obtained for specific sites of long-term monitoring for lodgement with the Antarctic Master Directory through the appropriate National Authority.

7(x) Requirement for reports

Parties should ensure that the principal Permit Holder for each permit issued submits to the appropriate national authority a report on activities undertaken.