1. Presented by: Megan Flaherty, Restoration Program Manager
Presented to: Pacific Fishery Management Council
November 5, 2018
Agenda Item E.5.b
Supplemental Public Presentation1
November 2018
San Diego Audubon: A Legacy of Protecting CA Least Terns and Other Seabirds Reliant on Northern Anchovy
CA Least Tern with fish. Photo by B. Struck.
Fostering the protection and appreciation of birds, other wildlife, and their habitats…

2. Presentation Outline Introduction to San Diego Audubon Society (SDAS)
Conservation of the CA Least Tern in Mission Bay
Importance of Anchovy
Asks of the PFMC
California Least Tern. Photo: W. Dalton
Fostering the protection and appreciation of birds, other wildlife, and their habitats…

3. Intro to SDAS: Mission and Vision
Foster the protection and appreciation of birds, other wildlife, and their habitats
Inspire a culture of conservation where people appreciate, understand, and actively protect the natural world
California Least Tern, with eggs. Photo: N. Johnston
Fostering the protection and appreciation of birds, other wildlife, and their habitats…

4. About San Diego Audubon
Programs:
Education
Sanctuaries
Outreach
Conservation
Founded in 1948, serving the San Diego region for over 60 years.
Annual budget of about $600,000, 6 staff.
Programs serve a diverse population across the county.
Four major program areas: conservation, education, outreach, sanctuaries.
Sanctuaries: Anstine (11 acres, nature education facility for the larger suburban population in north county) and Silverwood (757 acre, wilderness preserve, mixed chaparral and oak woodland habitats).
Conservation: This fiscal year, SDAS will host 25 habitat maintenance/restoration volunteer events, engage several hundred volunteers in restoration efforts, and generate over 3,000 hours of volunteer labor toward improving habitat for wildlife in San Diego County
Volunteers clearing coastal dune habitat. Photo: SDAS
Fostering the protection and appreciation of birds, other wildlife, and their habitats…

5. California Least Tern (CLTE)
Sterna antillarum browni
Small, grey, migratory seabird
Winter: Central America Nest: CA Coast
Forage for anchovies in lagoons, offshore water
Foraging time = highly sensitive to predation
The California Least Tern is a small (about 9 inches long), grey and white migratory shore bird native to the Pacific coast of north and central America. The birds over-winter in Central America and compCLTE a 2,700 mile migration to Southern California for breeding.
The birds forage for small fish, such as anchovies and other coastal pelagics, in lagoons, estuaries, and offshore waters. The time spent off the nest makes the CLTE highly susceptible to predation.
CA least tern in Mission Bay
Photo: B. Struck
Fostering the protection and appreciation of birds, other wildlife, and their habitats…

6. CLTE Conservation Status
State and federally-listed endangered (1970)
Nesting pairs/fledges avg:
: 400/125
: 200/14
: 197/57
Threats: Human disturbance, veg cover, predation, food availability
Not only is the CA Least Tern a state and federally listed endangered species, it is covered here in San Diego by both the Multiple Species Conservation Program and the Multiple Habitat Conservation Program.
As of 2004, over 1% of the global population of California Least Terns nested within Mission Bay Park.
Unfortunately there has been a substantial decrease in not only nesting pairs but especially fledglings produced by CLTE populations in Mission Bay. In a period covering , there were 400 nesting pairs and 125 chicks fledged in Mission Bay. During the next five year period, , there were 200 nesting pairs and only 14 chicks fledged.
This decline is thought to be the result of multiple stressors working synergistically within Mission Bay Park to negatively affect CLTE productivity. The three most significant of these stressors being Human disturbance, vegetation cover change, predation, food availability.
California Least Tern feeding chick. Photo: S. Nelson-Embry
Fostering the protection and appreciation of birds, other wildlife, and their habitats… 6

7. Habitat Restoration
Remove invasive weeds, install signs, repair fencing
Benefits multiple species
1,000+ volunteers every year

8. Ternwatchers Volunteer predator monitoring program
Record sightings of predators and contact predator control when needed
Since kicking off in 2014, over 100 volunteers have donated nearly 2,000 hours
Dozens of volunteers have donated hundreds of hours of effort
SDAS staff and Ternwatcher volunteers at Mariner’s Point.
Photo: Katie Schoolov
Fostering the protection and appreciation of birds, other wildlife, and their habitats…

9. Decline in Anchovy...
Despite a large crash in the fishery from , fisheries managers did not change the yearly quota, allowing for the same take from year to year. Continuing to fish out collapsed stocks prevents adequate recovery, driving impacts on marine predators. Add to that the impacts of increasingly frequent El Ninos/La Ninas and the uncertain effects of climate change.

10. ...Appears to be Affecting Nesting Productivity
Point Blue Conservation Science - northern anchovy decreasing near CLTE colonies in Sothern CA
Switch to fish larva and less nutritious food sources
Nesting productivity goes down
Least Tern feeding chick. Photo by S. Nelson-Embry

12. Need for Ecosystem-based Management
Eliminate the Monitored Stock category
Same features and updates as Active Stock
Stock assessments
Respond to fluctuations in population size
Protect spawning areas
Use science-based catch limits

13. Brown Pelican. Photo by John Menard.
Humpback Whale. Photo by: Anite Ritenour