Abel Tasman Islands Restored To Being Predator Free
Date: 26 March 2019
Department of Conservation announces that three Abel Tasman National Park islands are now predator free again after a 2017 operation successfully eradicated mice on the islands.
Monitoring confirms there are now no longer mice on Adele/Motuareronui, Fisherman/Motuareroiti and Tonga islands which are used as predator-free sanctuaries for native species.
DOC first carried out an operation to eradicate mice from the islands in 2007. Mice were found back on the islands in 2015 when mice numbers were high in the park due to heavy beech seed fall that provided more food and fuelled their breeding. The 2017 operation was carried out to restore the islands to being predator free.
Rats and stoats can swim the around 800 m distance from the park mainland to the islands. Mice are not thought to be able to swim more than 500 m but it’s possible they may have swum from the Abel Tasman mainland to the islands.
The Abel Tasman islands have biosecurity measures in place to help protect them from invading predators, including traps to catch them and tracking tunnels that record footprints to detect them. DOC staff have reviewed and strengthened these measures to detect predators earlier so they can be quickly eradicated before their numbers build.
DOC, Project Janszoon and the Abel Tasman Birdsong Trust work in partnership to try to keep the islands free of predators and to restore the islands’ ecology.
Go to the Department of Conservation website to read the full article