Biosecurity Rodent-detector Dogs
Samurai (left) and his new handler Naomi (a Falkland Islands local who is receiving training from organisation Working Dogs for Conservation WD4C) will perform inspections to check for the presence of rodents on vessels bound for South Georgia.
We are supporting the South Georgia Island Government in its aim to put in place robust and well-integrated biosecurity measures.
Using rodent detection dogs to test/check incoming ships and cargo to ensure that vessels entering the maritime zone do not re-contaminate the island with rodents. We support the purchasing, training and feeding the dogs that can sniff rodents and prevent them from reinvading South Georgia Island.
Most vessels arriving in South Georgia Island come via the Falkland Islands. This allows a skilled dog team to check vessels are rodent-free before departing for South Georgia.
There have been two successful pilots of the rodent detection programme, operating from Stanley. From October 2019 there will be a permanent rodent detection dog programme in place in the Falkland Islands.
This follow the success of our Habitat Restoration Project
Wild Water Whales Research
We are helping to support the work of British Antarctic Survey (BAS), which is carrying out this world-leading research into species that feed in South Georgia waters, such as the Southern Right Whale, Humpback Whale and Blue Whale Southern Right and Blue Whales: identifying and monitoring habits whales which feed nearby South Georgia.
Measuring their recovery and repopulation progress through a variety of scientific buoys and cutting edge technical underwater instruments. (British Antarctic Survey sponsored). https://www.bas.ac.uk/project/south-georgia-right-whale-project/south-georgia-right-whale-project-humpback-whale-tracking/).
Jen Jackson interview with the BBC “Southwest Atlantic humpback whales on recovery path” 16 Oct 2019
Conservation of South Georgia Albatrosses
Seabirds at Risk: The largest and most mesmerizing birds in the world live in the Southern Ocean. Experiencing a flying Albatross at sea is unlike any pelagic experience in the world. We continue to support a multiyear project looking at populations of Wandering, Grey-headed, Black-browed and Light-mantled Albatrosses have been declining in numbers; international fishing fleets snare them unintentionally as bycatch. We support technology and developmental work to reduce bycatch.
The South Georgia Heritage Trust (SGHT) , Friends of South Georgia Island (FOSGI) and our lead partners, the RSPB, BAS, BirdLife International and GSGSSI, are working together to reduce the high mortality rate among South Georgia’s albatross species.
This work is ultimately about ensuring global albatross populations thrive once more.
The immediate and sustained change this project aims to realise is to establish protocols among global fishing fleets that will drive the widespread use of bycatch mitigation measures (specifically targeting the Japanese tuna fleets initially). This will lead to a reduction in the number of South Georgia albatrosses that perish and ultimately remove these albatross species from global endangered list.