Administrator Sean Burns and Head of Convservation Trevor Glass made their annual visit to Gough Island to see the work of the South African Weather Service and RSPB teams.

Visit to Gough Island 2013

Visit to Gough Island 2013
Report and photos from Administrator Sean Burns

Marina and I took the opportunity to visit Gough during the Edinburgh’s recent fishing trip to the island.

We visited this time last year but were only able to manage a few hours ashore as the crane was out of service. This has been repaired and this year we were able to spend over a week at the Base, which gave us a good opportunity to see the work being done by the South African Weather Service and RSPB teams. Trevor Glass, who knows the island well, was also with us.

Trevor, Marina and Sean at Gonydale
 

Negotiations on the Gough Island lease are currently underway (the lease expires in August) so it was also a good opportunity to assess the state of the base and see what improvements are needed to ensure that it is fit for purpose and being maintained properly and in accordance with our strict rules in terms of the environment/conservation.

The highlight of the visit was a trip to Gonydale with Chris and Mara who are the joint RSPB team monitoring the Tristan albatrosses. Trevor was our excellent guide to the top and we spent the night camping out with Chris and Mara, which gave us an opportunity to see the great work they are doing there. They also have projects to run with penguins, other birds and the removal of sagina (an invasive plant) from the Base area. They have a busy schedule! The weather was very kind to us and we also managed trips to Tumbledown and the Admirals.

Sean, Marina and Trevor with the Gough Station Team

It was a longer trip than expected but that meant we were able to get firsthand experience of the fishing operation. We were also able to get aboard and talk to the passengers and crew of the Sørlandet, a three masted floating school! There are 50 students and seven teachers aboard this magnificent vessel. They were mainly from the US and Canada and will spend eight months at sea. They had been scheduled to visit Tristan but had to re route and decided to pop in to Transvaal Bay en route to Cape Town.

Left: The 499 tonne 57 metre long sailing vessel Sørlandet appears to dwarf the diminutive MV Edinburgh (Behind right). In fact the Ovenstone fishing vessel is larger at 1085 gross tonnes and 62.5 metres long!

View from the Gonydale track
Sean, Marina and Trevor
with the RSPB Conservation Team of Chris and Mara

The Gough team, under the leadership of Marilette Bester, were fabulous hosts and we are very grateful for their hospitality and for including us in all of their work. A great trip all round.

We are planning a feature on Gough Island for the August 2013 Newsletter.

A Tristan Albatross or Gony on its nest

Sean Burns reports
on his visit to Gough island
in February 2012


The first
by a Tristan Administrator
since 2007

South African Meteorological Station
above Transvaal Bay

Photos from Sean Burns

Seal Beach

There was a time when the Admin and Chief Islander made an annual visit to Gough. Sadly, the shipping schedule these days makes that very difficult so I was delighted when an opportunity presented itself. On 1st February Marina, Ian (on board as a fisheries observer as well) and I joined the Edinburgh departing for Gough for a five day round trip. Captain October, his crew and staff from the fisheries department were carrying out the annual biomass surveys of the lobster fishery. It is the first time the Administrator has visited since Mike Hentley visited during the changeover period with David Morley in 2007. It will probably be my only chance to visit the Island and it was especially important to see the station and the island now as we start negotiations with the South African Government over the Gough lease. It was also a good opportunity to see the fishing vessel and on board processing factory in operation.
We had a smooth sailing down there but on our mind was the worry that we would not get ashore. Just before we left we were informed that the crane, which is the method normally used to get people on to the base, had been ruled off limits.

Group Photo outside Gough Base House
showing Chief Islander Ian Lavarello (far left)
with Sean and Marina Burns (3rd & 4th from left)
with Gough Team 56 who will over-winter
on Gough and return to Cape Town
on the first voyage of SA Agulhas II
due to come into service in 2012

Link to SANAP's website Gough Island Page:
www.sanap.org.za/sanap_gough

for more information about the Gough Meteorological Station
run by South African National Antarctic programme (SANAP).

 

Using the lift at Snoekgat

Flags flying on Gough Base House

Waving farewell to the Gough Team

On arrival we were delighted to see that the Gough team had worked really hard to get a landing platform in place at Snoekgat, just below the base. The weather was also kind to us so Marina, Ian Lavarello, Warren Glass and I were all able to get ashore for a few hours. The team made us all very welcome. We met the whole team, had a tour of the base, saw the work they were doing and managed a trip to Seal Beach where the RSPB team are doing some work. We also saw the damaged crane area, which has cracked.
We had hoped to stay ashore for the night but the risk of the weather turning bad was too great. Even a slight swell at the landing point would make boat work dangerous and we could not afford to get trapped for a few days as the Edinburgh had to return to Cape Town.
Checking crayfish sizes
Aboard MV Edinburgh Left to Right:
Chief Islander Ian Lavarello, Gerry Repetto, Marina Burns, Joe Green and Dereck Rogers
Shooting the traps