Manako

Exploring Albatross Movements - 2004 duty cycled

A project of Albatross Conservation Collaborative.

click map for full-size version Manako was born on Midway Atoll, Sand Island, in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. When he was brought into the boat at Cordell Bank, a silver band on the right leg was engraved with a number that told the bird's birthplace and age. Manak� is 4 years old, not of breeding age yet, and probably has not returned to Hawaii since departing in 2000. The tag attached to the feathers will transmit locations every other day (24 hours on / 24 hours off) for up to 80 days. Knowing the age and history of this albatross is very lucky!

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Species: Black-footed Albatross
Life Stage: plumage class 3 (4 yrs)
Gender: Male
Release Date: 2004-08-10 17:15:00
Release Location: Cordell Bank
Last Location: 2004-09-22 01:19:56

Background

The Black-footed Albatross has been recently upgraded by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to the "Endangered" status, on the basis of a projected future decline of more than 60% over the next three generations (56 years). This decline has been attributed, at least in part, to bycatch in demersal and pelagic longline fisheries in the North Pacific Ocean.

The worsening conservation status of this species warrants research into its habits and habitats, especially during the poorly-understood post-breeding dispersal from colonies (July - November).

Black-footed Albatrosses breed on islands in the central and western North Pacific from late October to mid June. By early July, they disperse across the North Pacific, and occur off California in large numbers through the summer and fall. In particular, several "albatross hotspots" associated with seamounts and submarine canyons have been documented off the West Coast of North America.