Indigenous-led conservation networks reveal systemic threats to migratory shearwaters across colonial trade routes and climate zones

Indigenous communities in Australia and Alaska have stewarded shearwater populations for millennia using traditional ecological knowledge, including seasonal burning and sustainable harvesting practices. Their migratory tracking systems are rooted in oral histories that map ecological relationships across continents, far predating Western ornithology. This project risks repeating extractive research patterns unless Indigenous governance structures are fully integrated into decision-making.

The shearwater’s decline mirrors the fate of other migratory species disrupted by colonial expansion, such as the passenger pigeon, whose extinction was accelerated by habitat destruction and market hunting. The Noongar peoples’ displacement from Kepa Kurl (King George Sound) during British colonization severed cultural ties to the land and its avian inhabitants. Historical trade routes, including those used by the East India Company, disrupted migratory patterns long before modern climate change.

In Aotearoa (New Zealand), the tītī (sooty shearwater) is protected under the Māori-led conservation model, which combines traditional knowledge with legal personhood for ecosystems. The Yup’ik people’s seasonal calendars, which track bird migrations, offer a model for adaptive governance that Western conservation science has only recently begun to emulate. Cross-cultural frameworks like the 'Two-Eyed Seeing' approach in Canada demonstrate how Indigenous and Western sciences can co-create solutions.

Scientific studies confirm that shearwater populations are declining due to climate-induced shifts in prey availability, plastic ingestion, and habitat degradation from industrial fishing. Tracking data reveals that migratory corridors overlap with high-risk zones for oil spills and shipping traffic, but these findings are rarely translated into policy. Western ornithology has historically prioritized species-level data over ecosystem-based conservation, limiting its effectiveness in addressing systemic threats.

In Noongar culture, the shearwater (known as 'Kepa') is a totem animal embodying the spirit of the Djilba season, and its decline is seen as a disruption of natural law. Indigenous artists in both Australia and Alaska use bird migrations as metaphors for cultural resilience and resistance to colonial erasure. Spiritual frameworks in these communities frame conservation as an act of reciprocity, where humans are accountable to the more-than-human world.

Climate models project that shearwater migratory routes will shift poleward by 2050, increasing exposure to industrial zones and reducing breeding success. Scenario planning must account for Indigenous land-use practices, which have maintained biodiversity hotspots despite colonial disruption. The project’s success hinges on whether it can transition from data collection to policy change, particularly in international agreements like the Convention on Migratory Species.

Indigenous women, who often hold traditional ecological knowledge, are underrepresented in conservation leadership despite their central role in stewardship. The project risks tokenizing Indigenous participants if their governance structures are not formally recognized in decision-making. Marginalized coastal communities in both Australia and Alaska face disproportionate impacts from climate change and industrial extraction, yet their voices are often excluded from global conservation agendas.