 Eggers from San Francisco took almost half a million eggs a year from the Farallon Islands in the mid-19th century, a period in the islands' history from which the seabird species are still recovering.Both hunting and egging continue today, although not at the levels that occurred in the past, and generally in a more controlled manner.For example, the Māori of Stewart Island/Rakiura continue to harvest the chicks of the sooty shearwater as they have done for centuries, using traditional methods (called "kaitiakitanga") to manage the harvest, but now work with the University of Otago in studying the populations.