nests on the forty fours islets

Size
Length: 85-95 cm, Weight: 3.5-4.5 kg
Lifespan
35-45 years
Diet
Carnivorous. Feeds on fish, squid, and crustaceans. Follows fishing vessels for offal and discards. Forages by surface-seizing and shallow diving.
Habitat
Open subantarctic and temperate oceans. Breeds only on remote rocky islands and steep coastal cliffs of the Chatham Islands. Nests on exposed ledges.
Range
Endemic to New Zealand. Breeds only on the Pyramid and Forty-Fours islets in the Chatham Islands group. Forages across the South Pacific and Southern Ocean.
Endemism
Endemic
Main Threats
Incidental bycatch in longline and trawl fisheries, particularly outside the breeding season. Climate change affecting prey distribution. Sea level rise threatening low-lying breeding islets.
Population
Global population estimated at 11,000 breeding pairs, restricted entirely to the Pyramid and Forty-Fours islets in the Chatham group. Classified as Nationally Vulnerable by DOC.
Conservation Status
Nationally Vulnerable
Human Risk
harmless
Handling Note
critically endangered seabird, do not approach nesting colonies
Conservation Note
Endemic mollymawk; breeds only on Chatham Islands, threatened by fisheries bycatch and introduced predators.
Assessment
NZTCS Birds (2021)
Te Ao Māori
Toroa is the Māori name for mollymawks. The Chatham Island mollymawk is known to Moriori as the bird of the rocky islets. It holds deep significance for the Indigenous people of Rēkohu. This is the Māori name for the Chatham Islands. It represents the unique biodiversity of the islands. It shows the importance of isolation in shaping extraordinary life. Modern conservation on Rēkohu is guided by kaitiakitanga. This is the ethic of guardianship. The community protects the bird. It is a duty.
An albatross that chose isolation over abundance. The Chatham Island mollymawk breeds on two tiny islets east of the main Chatham group. These are the Pyramid and the Forty-Fours. That is it. A few hectares of rock sit in the middle of the South Pacific. Every single bird in the species comes from that one small patch of ground. It is a precarious existence. The plumage is typical for a mollymawk. It has a dark grey back and white underparts. The tail is dark. The head is pale grey with a dark smudge around the eye. The bill is black. It features a bright yellow ridge and an orange tip. The underwing is white with a narrow dark trailing edge. This last detail helps distinguish it from other mollymawks. It feeds on fish, squid, and crustaceans. It ranges across the Southern Ocean from South America to New Zealand. It follows fishing vessels. It takes discards. It also gets caught on longline hooks. Bycatch is the main threat. This is true for most albatrosses. A species with a tiny breeding range cannot afford many losses. The flight is typical mollymawk. It flaps and glides. The motion is efficient and direct. In strong winds, it barely moves its wings. It locks them and leans into the gusts. It can cover hundreds of kilometres in a day without seeming to work at it. The colony on the Pyramid is a spectacle. Thousands of birds pack onto steep rock ledges. Each pair defends a tiny patch of stone. The noise is constant. The smell is overwhelming. A single egg is laid. Both parents share incubation. The chick takes about four months to fledge. The name 'eremita' means hermit. It refers to the remote breeding location. The species was described in 1949. The birds had been known to Chatham Islanders for centuries. They called them 'the rock birds'. It was not poetic. It was accurate. The population crashed in the twentieth century. Longline bycatch was the cause. It has stabilised. It is slowly increasing. But the Pyramid is low-lying. Sea level rise is a long-term threat. A storm surge could wipe out a year's breeding. The mollymawk has no alternative site. On the Chatham Islands, the local people protect the toroa. They monitor the colony. They advocate for seabird-friendly fishing. They know that if the bird disappears, something irreplaceable goes with it. The numbers are not encouraging but they are steady. It carries on.