Kath Walker and Graeme Elliot are studying endangered wandering albatross on remote Antipodes Island, 860km southeast of Stewart Island/Rakiura.

And six DoC workers are finishing up work in Raoul Island, in the Kermadecs/Rangitāhua, more than 1000km north-northeast of New Zealand.

A private charter is being dispatched south for the scientists in the next clear weather window.

HMNZS Canterbury is heading from sub-antarctic waters to Raoul to collect staff. A helicopter with five staff from DoC, GNS and Met Service will fly by helicopter to meet the navy ship, so that they can retrieve equipment from the subtropical island arc.

A joint DoC and Defence Force resupply mission was due to leave the Devonport naval base on March 30, to swap out the team for new staff, but has now been postponed.

The Raoul team are due back in Auckland on April 1.

There are no DoC staff currently stationed on the sub-antartic Auckland or Campbell Islands.

A spokeswoman for DoC said: “The immediate priority for staff is shutting down their work on the islands and focussing on safe returns, and from there, getting settled into lockdown.

“We are working with the NZDF who will go to [Raoul] island … to get the staff and assist with the shutdown of the island for the short-term.

“The work the team does on the island is around weed control and maintenance of equipment.  A new weed programme will be developed once we are able to return to the island.”

Walker and Elliott have been working on Antipodes Island as part of a six-week programme to study the endangered albatross.

The population has declined by two thirds over the last 15 years from around 16,000 breeding birds to 6000. The major threat is being accidentally caught by longline fishing vessels, mainly on the high seas. 

The female population is being affected more severely than the males and experts fear the species could be wiped out within 20 years.

They are attaching small GPS transmitters to the albatross so the birds can be tracked while they forage at sea.

That will enable DOC and Fisheries NZ staff to understand where the birds are flying and where they encounter fishing vessels.

Live Ocean, a new marine conservation charity set up by sailors and Olympic gold and silver medallists Peter Burling and Blair Tuke partnered with Southern Seabirds Solutions Trust on the project and raised $70,000 to help pay for more satellite trackers.

Walker and Elliott weren’t available for interview. But the spokeswoman said: “While they are well-provisioned to remain on the island for extended periods of time, the situation on the mainland means that in the case of an emergency on the island, we can’t guarantee a quick evacuation, with resources supporting the Covid-19 pandemic response.

“In the meantime, Kath and Graeme have done a great job managing to get some tags out, but for now the focus is on a quick island pack up and a safe return to the mainland.”

The Kermadecs are one of the most pristine environments on earth, home to six million seabirds of 39 different species, over 150 species of fish and 35 species of whales and dolphins.

The Government, conservationists and scientists are currently locked in a battle with the commercial fishing industry over plans to create a 620,000 square kilometre ocean sanctuary.