The specific epithet halli was chosen to honour the Australian ornithologist Robert Hall who had described the birds breeding on the Kerguelen Islands.

[2][3] The northern giant petrel is now considered to be a separate species and has the binomial name Macronectes halli.

They produce a stomach oil made up of wax esters and triglycerides that is stored in the proventriculus.

This can be sprayed out of their mouths as a defence against predators as well as an energy rich food source for chicks and for the adults during their long flights.

[8] Finally, they also have a salt gland that is situated above the nasal passage and helps desalinate their bodies, due to the high amount of sea water that they imbibe.

[10][11] Its plumage consists of grey-brown body with lighter coloured forehead, sides of face, and chin.

Its bill is between 90 and 110 mm (3.5–4.3 in) long, slightly longer on average than the southern giant petrel, and is pinkish yellow with a brown tip.

[12] The northern giant petrel feeds mainly on carrion (dead penguins and pinnipeds), as well as fish, krill, squid, and other cephalopods.

Future plans are to maintain surveys and counting of individuals, research movement and migration, and continue lowering the bycatch deaths by current means and if needed newer measures through CCAMLR, CMS, and FAO.