Degree of Threat: Very high - medium
Comments: The primary existing threat to recovery is the possibility of an eruption of Torishima, the main breeding site (USFWS 2005). A minor eruption occurred there in August of 2002, after the end of the breeding season. Other possible threats include incidental catch in commercial fisheries, ingestion of plastics, contamination by oil and other pollutants, the potential for competition with non-native species (nest-site competition with black-footed albatross), and adverse effects related to global climate change (USFWS 2005).
HUNTING: The original decline of this species from abundance to near-extinction was primarily the result of overhunting in the late 1800s and early 1900s; albatrosses were killed for their feathers and their bodies processed into fertilizer and fat; the eggs were also collected for food (Austin 1949, cited in USFWS 2000; Rice and Kenyon 1962). Because this species was particularly sought after for pillow and quilting "swansdown" (Austin 1949), an estimated 5 million birds were eventually harvested (Hasegawa and DeGange 1982). These threats are no longer hindering the species' recovery.
NATURAL IMPACTS: Loss of habitat is a major threat to recovery on Torishima Island. Major volcanic eruptions took place there in 1902 and 1939, destroying much of the original breeding colony sites. The volcano is still active.
EXOTIC SPECIES: Cats and the Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) have become established on Torishima Island. There is no evidence of predation on birds or eggs; the impacts are unknown, but thought to be minor at present (Hasegawa, pers. comm. 2001).
COMMERCIAL FISHING: The commercial fishing industry working in the North Pacific could impact the short-tailed population. "There is little question that there will be adverse impacts...particularly in Alaska" (NMFS 1989). The effects were categorized by the National Marine Fisheries Service as the following: 1) direct injury or mortality from gear, such as gillnets and long-line hooks, 2) complications associated with discarded ship debris, such as plastic ingestion or entanglement, 3) competition for certain prey species, such as squid, squid or age/size classes of fish, and 4) damage or injury related to oil contamination, such as a spill or leak. Undoubtedly, most taking of short-tailed's goes unrecognized or unreported; however, there were two documented deaths in the 1980s, one from entanglement in a gillnet and one from hooking and drowning. This knowledge, combined with known distribution and surface feeding habits, has led the National Marine Fisheries Service to the conclusion that the greatest potential threat by fisheries is from driftnetting and longlining and, to a lesser degree, trawling and trolling. The Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese squid and large-mesh fisheries have, in the past, been responsible for 100,000s of seabird deaths per year, with 17,548 Laysan and 4,426 Black-footed Albatross taken in 1990 (Gould, in prep). Recent satellite tracking revealed significant overlap between short-tailed albatross locations and commercial fishing areas for sablefish, walleye pollack, and Pacific cod in Alaskan waters (Suryan et al. 2007). Use of seabird deterrent devices in the Alaskan longline fishery probably has reduced albatross mortality, and use of these devices in other areas should benefit albatrosses (Suryan et al. 2007).
PLASTIC POLLUTION: The commercial fishing industry is a large contributer to plastic pollution. In Alaska waters alone an excess of 1600 tons of fishing gears is lost annually (Merrill 1980). Title 2 of Public Law 100-220 of the Marine Plastic Pollution Research and Control Act of 1987 was designed to curb this pollution source. Meanwhile, plastic ingestion by short-tailed's has been documented by Hasegawa in 7 out of 11 chicks examined (McDermond, pers. comm.) on Torishima Island. It is important to note that Laysan chicks reported with higher volumes of ingested plastics show lower fledgling weights than those with lower volumes of ingested plastic and that reduction in ingested food volumes can contribute to chick dehydration (Sievert and Sileo, in McDermond 1991, in press). Day (1985) identified albatrosses, in general, as exhibiting a high frequency of plastic ingestion. Fry et al. (1987) stated that "the endangered Short-tailed Albatross must also be considered at high risk because much of its distribution overlaps with Laysan and Black-footed Albatrosses and its foraging range is near Japan and across the Pacific in areas of high density of plastic debris." The commercial fishing industry may target certain squid, fish, or shrimp species, which also are preyed upon by the short-tailed albatross.
COMPETITION: The degree of competition for prey species is unknown. The squid net fishery in the North Pacific was at one time dominated by the Japanese who have withdrawn their effort under pressure from the United Nations. Prior to November 1992, the Japanese fished 530 boats, the Taiwanese fished 90 boats, and the Koreans fished 130 boats; each boat fishing approximately 50 kilometers of net per night (Robert Day, February 1993, pers. comm.). Walleye pollack and sable fisheries, which have juvenile stage that occur in surface waters, may also compete with the short-tailed prey base (NMFS 1981). Expansion of nesting black-footed albatrosses into the nesting area on Torishima is a possible threat (Hasegawa and DeGange 1982).
OIL POLLUTION: Oil pollution could pose a threat to short-tailed albatross by causing physiological problems from petroleum toxicity and by interferring with its ability to thermoregulate. From 1980 to 1989, 410 commercial fishing boats became disabled or sank in Alaska waters (Pettin 1989), and many spilled hundreds or thousands of gallons of petroleum products into the ocean (NMFS 1989). Another related threat to the short-tailed breeding populations may be oil development in the vicinity of the Senkaku Islands (Hasegawa 1982), a venture that is still being considered at present (H. Hasegawa, pers. comm. 2001). This industrial development would introduce the risk of local marine contamination or wide-area pollution due to blow-outs, spills, and leaks related to oil extraction, transfer, and transportation (Sherburne 1984).