Hawaii FEP - Western Pacific Fishery Council

Common Name Scientific Name Common Name Scientific NameFraser’s dolphin Lagenodelphis hosei Dall’s porpoise Phocoenoides dalliLongman’s beakedwhaleIndopacetus pacificuscommon dolphinDelphinus delphisminke whaleBalaenopteraacutorostrataFraser’s dolphinLagenodelphis hosei3.3.4.3 SeabirdsSeabirds listed as threatened or endangered under the ESA are managed by the USFWS. Theshort-tailed albatross, which is listed as “endangered” under the ESA, is a migratory seabird thatis known to be occasionally present in the NWHI.Short-Tailed AlbatrossThe short-tailed albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) is the largest seabird in the North Pacific,with a wingspan of more than 3 meters (9 ft) in length. It is characterized by a bright-pink billwith a light-blue tip and defining black line extending around the base. The plumage of a youngfledgling (i.e., a chick that has successfully flown from the colony for the first time) is brown,and at this stage, except for the bird’s pink bill and feet, the seabird can easily be mistaken for ablack-footed albatross. As the juvenile short-tailed albatross matures, the face and underbodybecome white and the seabird begins to resemble a Laysan albatross. In flight, however, theshort-tailed albatross is distinguished from the Laysan albatross by a white back and by whitepatches on the wings. As the short-tailed albatross continues to mature, the white plumage on itscrown and nape changes to a golden yellow.Before the 1880s, the short-tailed albatross population was estimated to be in the millions, and itwas considered the most common albatross species ranging over the continental shelf of the U.S.(DeGange 1981). Between 1885 and 1903, an estimated five million short-tailed albatrosses wereharvested from the Japanese breeding colonies for the feather, fertilizer, and egg trade, and by1949 the species was thought to be extinct (Austin 1949). In 1950, ten short-tailed albatrosseswere observed nesting on Torishima (Tickell 1973).The short-tailed albatross is known to breed only in the western North Pacific Ocean, south ofthe main islands of Japan. Although at one time there may have been more than ten breedinglocations (Hasegawa 1979), today there are only two known active breeding colonies: MinamiTori Shima Island and Minami-Kojima Island. On December 14, 2000, one short-tailed albatrosswas discovered incubating an egg on Yomejima Island of the Ogasawara Islands (southernmostisland among the Mukojima Islands). A few short-tailed albatrosses have also been observedattempting to breed, although unsuccessfully, at Midway Atoll in the NWHI.81