Global political responsibility for the conservation of albatrosses and large petrels.
Martin BealMaria Peixe DiasRichard A PhillipsSteffen OppelCarolina HazinElizabeth J PearmainJosh AdamsDavid J AndersonMichelle AntolosJavier A ArataJosé Manuel ArcosJohn P Y ArnouldJill A AwkermanElizabeth A BellMike BellMark CareyRyan David CarleThomas A ClayJaimie B CleelandValentina ColodroMelinda G ConnersMarta Cruz-FloresRichard CuthbertKarine DelordLorna DeppeBen J DilleyHerculano DinisGraeme ElliottFernanda De FelipeJonathan J FelisManuela G ForeroAmanda N D FreemanAkira FukudaJacob Gonzalez-SolísJosé Pedro GranadeiroApril HeddPeter HodumJosé-Manuel IgualAudrey JaegerTodd J LandersMatthieu Le CorreAzwianewi MakhadoBenjamin MetzgerTeresa MilitãoWilliam A MontevecchiVirginia Morera-PujolLeia Navarro-HerreroDeon NelDavid NichollsDaniel OroRidha OuniKiyoaki OzakiFlavio QuintanaRaül RamosTim ReidJosé Manuel Reyes-GonzálezChristopher RobertsonGraham RobertsonMohamed Salah RomdhanePeter G RyanPaul M SagarFumio SatoStefan SchoombieR Paul ScofieldScott A ShafferNirmal Jivan ShahKim L StevensChristopher SurmanRobert M SuryanAkinori TakahashiVikash TatayahGraeme TaylorDavid R ThompsonLeigh G TorresKath WalkerRoss WanlessSusan M WaughHenri WeimerskirchTakashi YamamotoZuzana ZajkovaLaura ZangoPaulo CatryPublished in: Science advances (2021)
Migratory marine species cross political borders and enter the high seas, where the lack of an effective global management framework for biodiversity leaves them vulnerable to threats. Here, we combine 10,108 tracks from 5775 individual birds at 87 sites with data on breeding population sizes to estimate the relative year-round importance of national jurisdictions and high seas areas for 39 species of albatrosses and large petrels. Populations from every country made extensive use of the high seas, indicating the stake each country has in the management of biodiversity in international waters. We quantified the links among national populations of these threatened seabirds and the regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) which regulate fishing in the high seas. This work makes explicit the relative responsibilities that each country and RFMO has for the management of shared biodiversity, providing invaluable information for the conservation and management of migratory species in the marine realm.