#WorldSeabirdDay

Happy World Seabird Day!!

Happy World Seabird Day

Happy belated World Seabird Day… a day chosen to celebrate these enigmatic creatures and to spread the word of their plight. It’s no coincidence that today is also the 173^rd anniversary of the extinction of the Great Auk (think Puffin but MASSIVE!!). I wanted to put this blog up on the 3rd, but our internet out here can be a pain! Better late than never though...

Whenever seabirds are mentioned in the media, frightening statistics follow. Their numbers have dropped by 70% since the 50’s, making them our most threatened group of birds. Half of the 300 species are threatened with extinction, 10% in the near future. Albatrosses and Petrels are particularly at risk. Our own Tristan Albatross for example, now has a breeding population of only around 2,000 pairs, and this figure is dropping each year by 3-5%. That’s maths that simply doesn’t work… if nothing is done they will be gone in the next few decades.

And it’s not just the birds themselves that we need to worry about…. seabirds are what is known in scientific jargon as ‘environmental indicators’. Looking into how they are faring gives us a good idea of how their environment is doing. In this case that means the oceans, and what we are seeing doesn’t bode well.

So why are seabirds in this mess? There are a number of problems, all caused by our own carelessness. One of my recent blogs spoke of the huge amount of plastic in the sea, and the problems this creates, and we have both talked about the devastation being caused by the introduced mice on the island. Predation by introduced mammals is a common theme with seabird declines, and they are also struggling with the ever-present threat of climate change. The industrialisation of the fishing industry in recent decades also has a lot to answer for. Before this, the fishing boats actually helped seabirds, as the discards and offal thrown overboard were an easy source of food. Nowadays though, the vast quantities of fish taken from the sea puts such pressure on the ecosystems found there, and forces seabirds to travel long distances to find enough food. Longline fishing boats are particularly devastating. These vessels trail lines many kilometres long, with baited hooks along their length. As these lines are being let out seabirds dive down to grab the bait before it sinks out of reach, getting hooked themselves in the process. They cannot disentangle themselves, and are simply dragged underwater with the line and drowned.

A Tristan Albatross chick with plastic it vomited (Em Witcutt)

A Northern Gannet tangled in fishing net (David Kinchin-Smith)

Sorry for all the doom and gloom… there is cause for hope! An international ‘Albatross Task Force’ has been set up, and has been spending time on fishing boats, showing fishermen how to prevent seabirds being caught on their hooks. Bird-scaring devices are now a regular feature on fishing boats, and many ingenious and cheap methods have been found to make the hooks safer. On many lines, hooks are encased until they reach a certain depth and are out of reach of the diving birds, when the covering comes away automatically and the hooks are accessible to fish. There are many projects, including here on Gough, to remove introduced predators from important seabird islands, some of which have been successful already. Nature reserves have been protecting seabird colonies for many years, and the much newer concept of protected areas at sea are helping to safeguard their feeding areas. With luck, we can turn the tide for these beautiful birds before it is too late!

Em