From Monday afternoon August 3 to Friday 7 helicopters will bait the island and nearby Little Broughton and smaller islands North Rock and Inner Rock.

The program is designed to control rabbits and introduced rat populations that have been detrimental to island ecology worldwide, and have been implicated in the extinction of several endemic species.

National parks and wildlife service hunter region manager Robert Quirk said the effect of rabbits on islands has been catastrophic, with many islands virtually denuded.

“Loss of vegetative cover as a result of rabbit grazing and burrowing activities has rendered substantial areas of some islands vulnerable to erosion and degradation.

“The eradication of rabbits from nearby Cabbage Tree Island resulted in immediate benefits to the vegetation communities directly benefiting the survival of the endangered Gould’s Petrel.”

Mr Quirk said the removal of rabbits from the Broughton Group will assist in the restoration of the seabird nesting habitat by reducing the grazing pressure on seedlings.

“Introduced rats have been implicated in the decline and local extinction of a large number of island species. Rodents eat seabird’s eggs and kill and eat their chicks,” he said.

“These rodents also prey upon smaller animals such as lizards and competing with native animals for seeds.

A follow up baiting program is planned later this month from August 17 to 21. Bait warning signs will remain on the island for three months until mid-November.