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Figure 3.6 indicates the proportion of beached Fulmars having more than 0.1g plastic in theirstomach. All age groups are combined in the graph (adults and non adults) and blank bars withdashed contours indicate insufficient sample size. If the Fulmar is taken as an indicator species forthe impacts of marine litter it can be clearly seen that marine litter is having a much greater impacton marine organisms than is currently considered acceptable. There is a large gap between thecurrent levels in the Greater North Sea and the target level set for the EcoQO.In addition to the data supplied by Niedersachsen, Germany (table 3.1) an analysis of thecommon beached bird database (Schleswig-Holstein/Niedersachsen) for the period 1992-2006indicates that less than 1% of the beached birds found on the German North Sea coast are thevictims of litter but the most common litter items involved are line/rope entanglements (48% of alllitter victims), net entanglements (39%) and fishing hooks (7%), reducing movement andpotentially resulting in serious injury, death by starvation, drowning or suffocationTable 3.1 Beached bird survey on islands of Lower Saxony, Niedersachsen,10 controlling stretches, controlled biweeklyNLWKN unpublishedBirdsCause of deathJahr Garbage Oil Unknown1995 15 560 22481996 18 531 59471997 11 195 32611998 18 368 26901999 16 257 36052000 3 257 29802001 19 182 32052002 5 129 30772003 5 100 18672004 11 66 12712005 11 204 18162006 9 48 17642007 14 879 441142