Calling Tawharanui home
There’s a good view of Hauturu from the end of the Tawharanui peninsula. And there’s no better time to be there than sunset, as gold sun...
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Across All Realms: Sea, Land & Air
Our seabird taonga
News
Blog posts:
PACIFIC SEABIRDS SURVEY & MONITORING MANUAL
This comprehensive manual providing tools to support seabird conservation across ecosystems in Oceania was launched at Oceania Seabirds 2025
It is available here
OCEANIA SEABIRDS 2025
One hundred and fifty people attended the inaugural Oceania Seabirds Symposium, held at the University of Auckland, with excellent representation from countries across the Pacific. Three days of presentations, discussion groups, posters and workshops.
Go to the symposium website and check out the programme; with accompanying galleries of photos taken during the event.
The symposium was hugely successful, and attendees were adamant that there should be more, with 2027 and held in a Pacific nation greatly favoured.
The Ocean that connects us
The value of recording seabird and surface marine activity at sea
We take two contrasting scenarios: participation in 1/ a dedicated trans-Oceania research expedition and 2/ opportunistic surveying, both recognising how little we know about at-sea distribution of many species across Oceania.
Our poster presented at the Oceania Seabirds 2025 symposium is available here
Restoring Resilience
Te Whakarauoratanga ake:
Seabird restoration for the Tamaki Makaurau / Auckland region and Te Moananui-ā-Toi / Tīkapa Moana / Hauraki Gulf.
This new practical guide lays out how communities, iwi and hapū can restore seabirds to the mainland as more areas become predator free. it covers restoration techniques, protection of seabirds, monitoring, and benefits—both for the ecosystem and people.
“New Zealanders are working hard to create safe havens for native wildlife with their predator-free efforts,” says Kerry Lukies, lead author of the report. “The bush birds are bouncing back—but let’s not forget about the seabirds too!”
The guide is available in printed form and can be viewed here.
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Hauraki Gulf Fisheries Plan
Fisheries New Zealand sought views on the Draft Hauraki Gulf Fisheries Plan through a public submission process in 2023.
Here is our full submission.
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Tara Photography Competition
October 2022 - February 2023
We will be announcing the award winners and highly commended at the Birds New Zealand Conference in New Plymouth 3 June 2023
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Catching exploits in France
(August 2022 & 2023)
Chris Gaskin, the Trust's Project Coordinator and developer of net guns for catching seabirds at sea headed to France and joined the team for the National Plan of Action for the Balearic Shearwater. As a result of a winning international collaboration combining OFB, CNRS, LINKS, SKRAVIK crew, and Chris, thirty birds were captured in the Mor Braz, Brittany. Ten birds were equipped with GPS loggers to better understand their spatial and food ecology during their stay in the French waters of the Gulf of Gascoge and the Western Channel. Chris will be returning to France this year.
View a video about the project.
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Championing Seabirds
(July- August 2022)
Trustee and wildlife photographer Edin Whitehead has been talking about seabirds in three sessions on RNZ.
Our Changing World (with Jesse Mulligan) – Seabirds under threat
For the love of seabirds
Edin Whitehead: saving baby seabirds
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Bilingual seabird threats posters
(October 2021)
Working with cartoon artist extraordinaire Giselle Clarkson, Edin Whitehead (text) and Stephanie Tibble (Te Reo translations) the Trust has produced a set of eight bilingual posters on the Threats to Seabirds. These are being distributed to educational providers for use in working seabirds into their programmes.
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39 'wing beats' from extinction!
(October 2021)
Only 39 tara iti / New Zealand fairy terns remain in existence. This tiny population of Aotearoa New Zealand’s rarest endemic bird is maintained through intensive management from a dedicated team. But how sustainable is this?
Our report puts the spotlight on the state of seabirds in the wider Hauraki Gulf region.
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Sedimentation effects on seabirds and shorebirds
(December 2021)
The known effects of marine sediment on New Zealand’s 87 breeding seabird species and 47 shorebird species are discussed in this report commissioned by DOC. Knowledge gaps are also highlighted.
Kerry Lukies is the lead author on this report, with Edin Whitehead and Chris Gaskin.
Open Ocean Aquaculture Guidelines
(October 2021)
Open ocean aquaculture is defined as “aquaculture outside of semi-enclosed bays and harbours or other sheltered locations around mainland New Zealand and larger offshore islands”. Dispersive open ocean environments are being targeted by aquaculture industry for fin-fish farms. The sustainable development of open ocean finfish farming in Aotearoa New Zealand requires robust and practical guidance for minimising and mitigating effects on seabirds.
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