Safeguarding Fiji’s elusive seabirds
Fiji’s Gau Island hosts two Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas, with communities engaged in protecting the seabirds that live there – Collared Petrel and perhaps the mysterious Fiji Petrel…
The fifth-largest island in Fiji, Gau (pronounced “Nau”) is part of the Lomaiviti archipelago, east of the country’s main island Viti Levu. With no fewer than 16 villages, it is where spiritual links are strongest to the Critically Endangered and little-known Fiji Petrel. Thought to reside underground high in the mountains, this elusive seabird is known locally as Kacau ni Gau.
Despite the cultural importance of this species being passed down through generations of Gau residents, the bird itself disappeared for more than a century after it was first discovered in the 1850s. Many thought it was extinct… until it was rediscovered in the 1980s. Even then, it took until 2009 for the species to be photographed at sea.
Fiji Petrel was lost for so long and remains almost impossibly difficult to find, making it one of the world’s rarest and poorest-known seabirds. It’s Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List as it is suspected the global population could be as low as 50 birds. And Gau is thought to be the only place they breed.
Header image: A Collared Petrel in flight over the sea of Fiji © Jorge Kretzschmar
The island’s importance for seabirds has already been recognised. Search efforts by Dr Dick Watling – a key player in the founding of our national Partner NatureFiji-MareqetiViti – uncovered a significant colony of Collared Petrels in Gau’s mountainous region. This has been recognised as an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA), as well as a marine area covering more than 2,500 km² around Gau.
As such, Gau is one of the project sites involved in BirdLife’s Invasive Species Management for Resilient Communities and Ecosystems project – or INSPIRE for short. It is funded by the Kiwa Inititative and linked with four of our Partners in the Pacific region – Société d’Ornithologie de Polynésie (SOP Manu – French Polynesia), Samoa Conservation Society, Palau Conservation Society and of course, NatureFiji-MareqetiViti.
Each organisation has close ties with local communities, stakeholders and national governments. The project manages invasive alien species – such as mammals brought to islands by humans, non-native plants and even birds – to ensure ecosystems are kept in their natural balance for the good of people and biodiversity.
Immensely proud of the Fiji Petrel and their cultural connection with the species, Gau islanders have been enthusiastic partners from the outset. Together with NatureFiji-MareqetiViti, they have identified the threats as rats, feral cats and pigs. A trapping and monitoring programme has been established that covers more than 1,000 hectares and three villages. Biosecurity efforts make sure that no new invasives are brought to Gau, particularly mongooses, which have caused havoc elsewhere in Fiji.
These efforts to prevent colonies being ravaged by invasive mammals are protective measures that boost the chances of successful breeding for all of Gau’s seabirds. We know that Collared Petrels nest in the forests and hills at the heart of the island, but we remain unsure as to where Fiji Petrels spend time on land.
That means Collared Petrels are viewed as something of a ‘surrogate’ species for Fiji Petrel. By making sure local communities can safeguard colonies and have the knowledge to take care of lost, disoriented or injured birds, it will benefit both species. And importantly, it maintains those long-standing connections between the people and birds of Gau Island.
