South African National Antarctic Programme

Gough Island Restoration Project is recruiting!

by Ria Olivier | Mar 12, 2020 | Announcement, Gough Island, Jobs

S.A. Agulhas II at Gough Island

Gough Island is a remote, uninhabited island in theTristan da Cunha archipelago, in the South Atlantic Ocean, more than 1,500 miles from Cape Town. Naturally free of land predators Gough has been an idyllic nesting ground relied upon by millions of seabirds including many who breed almost nowhere else.

Its importance for threatened species and sites of outstanding universal value earned Gough World Heritage Site status in 1995 and Important Bird Area status in 2013.

Mice were accidentally introduced to the island, most probably by sailors during the 19th Century. Since arriving on Gough they have learnt to exploit all available food sources on the island, including seabirds. Video cameras reveal how the mice eat the flesh of seabird chicks. Tristan albatross chicks weigh up to 10kg, but open wounds inflicted over successive nights frequently lead to their deaths. Mice are now starting to attack adult seabirds too. The loss of adult birds adds even greater urgency to this extinction prevention project.

The Gough Island Restoration Project is recruiting Gough Island Field Assistants!

Field Assistants

This is an opportunity to be part of one of the RSPB’s biggest ever projects to save #seabirds on a stunning island in the South Atlantic Ocean! We are hiring 3 Field Assistants to be based on Gough Island from Aug 2020 – Sept 2021 to monitor bird populations following the restoration of the island.

Find out more about assistants and apply here:

Senior-field-assistant

Field-assistant

Photos: Michelle Most-excellent & Jones Chris Most-excellent Jones