In recent news by Radio New Zealand News, scientist are using GPS to track and study the movements of seabirds at sea and find out what impact fishing is having on their numbers.
The project is being led by Te Papa and is being funded by the Department of Conservation and carried out at seabirds nesting on an island off the Coromandel Peninsula.
Te Papa senior curator Susan Waugh said they have been studying the flesh-footed shearwater population for about three years to see whether it’s changing over time.
She said there’s a management requirement to understand where the seabirds go because they are one of the species most affected by commercial and recreational fisheries by-catch.
The study had stared at Ohinau Island in mid-January and is scheduled to continue until the end of February.
Source: Radio New Zealand News
