| Native name: Motu Tītī | |
|---|---|
| Geography | |
| Administration | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | Seasonally inhabited; no permanent population |
| Ethnic groups | Rakiura Māori |
The Titi/Muttonbird Islands are located near Stewart Island in the far south of New Zealand. The islands are not permanently inhabited, and are named for the traditional seasonal harvesting ("muttonbirding") of the sooty shearwater by Māori. These birds are known as "muttonbirds" due to their supposedly mutton-like taste. [1]
In May 2006, the north-eastern chain was the scene of tragedy when the fishing boat Kotuku capsized with the loss of six lives, close to Women's Island. [2]
There are three chains, collectively referred to as the Muttonbird or Titi Islands. (The islands' official name is "Titi/Muttonbird Islands"). [1] The north-eastern chain lies in Foveaux Strait, to the north-east of Stewart Island, between it and Ruapuke Island. A small eastern chain, south of Stewart Island's East Cape, also goes by the name of the Breaksea Islands. The southern chain lies to the south-west of Stewart Island.
The sooty shearwater is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. Ardenna was first used to refer to a seabird by Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi in 1603, and grisea is medieval Latin for "grey".
Snares Islands/Tini Heke, also known as The Snares, is a small group of uninhabited islands lying about 200 km south of New Zealand's South Island and to the south-southwest of Stewart Island/Rakiura. The Snares consist of the main North East Island and the smaller Broughton Island as well as the Western Chain Islands some 5 km (3.1 mi) to the west-southwest. Collectively, the Snares have a total land area of 3.5 km2 (1.4 sq mi).
The wedge-tailed shearwater is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It is one of the shearwater species that is sometimes referred to as a muttonbird, like the sooty shearwater of New Zealand and the short-tailed shearwater of Australia. It ranges throughout the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans, roughly between latitudes 35°N and 35°S. It breeds on islands off Japan, on the Islas Revillagigedo, the Hawaiian Islands, the Seychelles, the Northern Mariana Islands, and off Eastern and Western Australia.
The short-tailed shearwater or slender-billed shearwater, also called yolla or moonbird, and commonly known as the muttonbird in Australia, is the most abundant seabird species in Australian waters, and is one of the few Australian native birds in which the chicks are commercially harvested. It is a migratory species that breeds mainly on small islands in Bass Strait and Tasmania and migrates to the Northern Hemisphere for the boreal summer.
Muttonbird may refer to:
Little Green Island is a granite island, with an area of 87 hectares, in south-eastern Australia. It is part of Tasmania’s Great Dog Island Group, lying in eastern Bass Strait between Flinders and Cape Barren Islands in the Furneaux Group. It is partly a conservation area, and partly private property, used for grazing livestock. The island has been degraded by repeated burning and grazing. Commercial muttonbirding took place until 1957, and recreational muttonbirding since then. The island is part of the Franklin Sound Islands Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because it holds over 1% of the world populations of six bird species.
Muttonbirding is the seasonal harvesting of the chicks of petrels, especially shearwater species, for food, oil and feathers by recreational or commercial hunters. Such hunting of petrels and other seabirds has occurred in various locations since prehistoric times, and there is evidence that many island populations have become extinct as a result. More recently ‘muttonbirding’ usually refers to the regulated and sustainable harvesting of shearwaters in Australia and New Zealand. These include the short-tailed shearwater, also known as the yolla or Australian muttonbird, in Bass Strait, Tasmania, as well as the sooty shearwater, also known as the titi or New Zealand muttonbird, on several small islands known as the Muttonbird Islands, scattered around Stewart Island in the far south of New Zealand.
Titi is a New World monkey in the genus Callicebus.
The Oyster Rocks are a close pair of small granite islands, with a combined area of about 6 ha, in south-eastern Australia. They are part of Tasmania’s Tin Kettle Island Group, lying in eastern Bass Strait between Flinders and Cape Barren Islands in the Furneaux Group. They are a conservation area. The islands are part of the Franklin Sound Islands Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because it holds over 1% of the world populations of six bird species.
Hakawai, also Hokioi in the North Island, was to the New Zealand Māori people, a mythological bird that was sometimes heard but not usually seen. It is now associated with the nocturnal aerial displays made by Coenocorypha snipe.
Steep Island, also known as Steep Head, is a 21.6 ha island in Bass Strait in south-eastern Australia. It is part of Tasmania’s Hunter Island Group and lies between north-west Tasmania and King Island. It was once used for grazing sheep but title has been transferred to the Tasmanian Aboriginal community; with an estimated 250,000 shearwater burrows present, it is principally used for muttonbirding.
Trefoil Island is an island with an area of 115.79 ha, in south-eastern Australia. It is part of Tasmania’s Trefoil Island Group, lying close to Cape Grim, Tasmania's most north-westerly point, in Bass Strait. It is owned by the Trefoil Island Aboriginal Cooperative and is home to an estimated 1.5 million breeding pairs of short-tailed shearwaters, which are subject to annual muttonbirding activities. Approval is required to visit.
The Harbour Islets are a group of two adjacent small rocky islands, joined at low tide, part of Tasmania’s Trefoil Island Group, lying close to Cape Grim, Tasmania's most north-westerly point, in Bass Strait, with a combined area of 3.13 ha, in south-eastern Australia.
Curtis Island is a granite island, with an area of 150 ha, in south-eastern Australia. It is part of Tasmania’s Curtis Group, lying in northern Bass Strait between the Furneaux Group and Wilsons Promontory in Victoria. It is a nature reserve and has been identified as an Important Bird Area because it supports up to 390,000 breeding pairs of short-tailed shearwaters or Tasmanian muttonbirds.
The Great Dog Island, also known as Big Dog Island, and part of the Great Dog Group within the Furneaux Group, is a 354-hectare (870-acre) granite island, located in Bass Strait, lying south of the Flinders Island and north of the Cape Barren Island, in Tasmania, in south-eastern Australia.
Marriott Reef is a small group of granite islets, with a combined area of 3.4 ha, in south-eastern Australia. It forms part of Tasmania’s Pasco Island Group, lying in eastern Bass Strait off the north-west coast of Flinders Island in the Furneaux Group.
Curlew Island is a low-lying islet with an area of 0.415 ha in south-eastern Australia. It is part of the Partridge Island Group, lying close to the south-eastern coast of Tasmania, in the D'Entrecasteaux Channel between Bruny Island and the mainland.
Stewart Island/Rakiura, commonly known as Stewart Island, is New Zealand's third-largest island, located 30 kilometres south of the South Island, across the Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a total land area of 1,746 square kilometres (674
Big South Cape Island or Taukihepa is an offshore island of New Zealand to the west of the southern tip of Stewart Island/Rakiura. The island has no permanent inhabitants but muttonbirders visit the island to catch the sooty shearwater, known in New Zealand as a "muttonbird".
The Nuyts Archipelago is an island group located in South Australia in the Great Australian Bight to the south of the town of Ceduna on the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula. It consisting of mostly granitic islands and reefs that provide breeding sites for Australian sea lions and support colonies of short-tailed shearwater. It also includes the island group known as the Isles of St Francis. All the islands with exception of a part of Evans Island, are located with the following protected areas - the Nuyts Archipelago Wilderness Protection Area and the Nuyts Archipelago Conservation Park.
