Half a century ago, there were only a few dozen short-tailed albatrosses left, but now their populations have recovered to around 2,000 birds. However, they currently only breed in two locations, volcanically active Torishima and the politically threatened Senkaku Islands, meaning fears regarding their extinction have not disappeared completely. A third breeding ground is necessary to ensure the stability of these populations. The Yamashina Institute is working to create a third breeding ground by developing artificial chick-rearing techniques. In 2008, it moved 10 chicks from Torishima to a historical breeding site on Mukojima, and after three months of artificial rearing, all ten successfuly fledged. This project aims to continue rearing chicks from Torishima at locations in the Mukojima island group. If it can succesfully raise 15 chicks a year over three years, it will produced a total of 55 fledged birds and increase the likelihood of the Mukojima Group once again becoming a short-tailed albatross breeding site.