Hoiho tracking - 2018-2020 - Monthly reports

Hoiho (Yellow-eyed penguins) are listed as Endangered in both the NZ Threat classification and with the IUCN. They face a range of threats, both marine and terrestrial, and recent poor breeding success and disease events at some colonies have highlighted the precarious nature of hoiho. Direct fishing mortality, particularly in setnets, along with indirect effects of habitat modification and reduction of prey availability adversely affect hoiho, particularly on the mainland, Rakiura and Whenua Hou populations. Key knowledge gaps lie in having representative tracking data over all sites and life stages to better understand foraging behaviour and fisheries overlap and the site-specific identification of prey items to determine drivers for differing briefing success, animal condition and disease susceptibility. This project undertakes comprehensive tracking project of Yellow-eyed penguins across their mainland range. Research efforts will focus on the Catlins and Stewart Island. Tracking data will be obtained in three general regions: Eastern Catlins (Nugget Point, Penguin Bay, Hinahina Cove), Western Catlins (Te Rere), and Stewart Island (Bravo Group and other outlying islands) GPS tracking, TDR and video data will be collected from breeding male and females in each the principal breeding and life-history stages, i.e. chick guard, early post-guard, late post-guard, pre-moult, winter dispersal, and concluding with incubation.