World_of_Animals_Issue_46_2017

The incredible lives of seabirds
Seabird protector
Seabirds are some of the most
threatened birds in the world, and many
conservationists now work tirelessly to
protect them from a range of dangers
Berry Mulligan is a
conservationist working for
Birdlife International and is
currently involved with the
Albatross Task Force, which
is doing everything it can to
protect this majestic species
longline fisheries
A single longline boat sets up to
2,500 hooks at a time. Birds get
caught in these hooks, causing
160,000 seabird deaths each year.
Pollution
Plastic represents around 90
per cent of the floating marine
debris. Ingesting plastic is
deadly for marine life and
damages seabird populations.
What dangers are seabirds currently facing?
Seabirds have the dubious honour of being one
of the most threatened groups of animals on
the planet – almost half of all seabird species
are in decline and under threat. They face
dangers on land at their breeding colonies,
where they fall prey to invasive alien predators
such as rats and cats, or suffer from human
disturbance and habitat destruction. At sea, it
is fisheries – competing for prey or accidentally
catching birds – and pollution that are the
major issues driving declines. Albatrosses and
other enigmatic seabirds such as penguins are
in serious trouble globally, with some species
teetering dangerously towards the brink.
Trawl fisheries
Trawl boats work individually or in tandem.
Deaths occur at warp cables at the back of the
boat, or in nets during setting and trawling.
climate change
Climate change disrupts the
oceanographic cycles governing
marine ecosystems. Seabirds are
increasingly affected by it.
gillnet fisheries
Gillnets are set at many different
depths. Birds get entangled in
them and drown. This causes over
400,000 seabird deaths each year.
© Bird Life; Rachel Hudson/butterflytrack.co.uk; Jack Barton; Helen Mulligan
So what is Birdlife International doing to
combat this?
We are tackling accidental bycatch, identifying
special sites for seabirds and the threats to
them, and ridding seabird islands of any invasive
species of animals.
Solving the bycatch crisis requires working
directly with fishermen to develop simple
and inexpensive measures to prevent the
unintentional deaths of seabirds on hooks and
in nets. To achieve this, BirdLife established
the groundbreaking Albatross Task Force,
an international team of bycatch mitigation
instructors working in southern Africa and South
America. Using this collaborative approach,
albatross bycatch has been reduced by 99 per
cent in the South African hake trawl fisheries
and seven of ten fisheries we have targeted now
have seabird conservation regulations.
human disturbance
All animals can be threatened
by close contact from
humans, and seabirds are no
exception. Loud noises and
unwanted disturbances near
colonies can cause havoc.
“Albatross bycatch has reduced by 99 per cent
in the South African hake trawl fisheries”
What are invasive species and how do they
effect seabirds?
Invasive alien species are animals and plants
that are introduced accidently or deliberately
into a natural environment where they are
not normally found, often wreaking havoc
on the species already there. The problem is
particularly acute on islands as the species
present tend to lack adequate defences against
introduced predators, like rats.
While they present a huge conservation
challenge, when the invasive species are
removed, nature bounces back. Invasive
species have been successfully eradicated from
small seabird islands in the tropics to large
subantarctic islands, and many sites around the
UK. The number of breeding pairs of the rare
Manx shearwater are fast increasing on Ramsey
Island in Pembrokeshire, for example, following
the removal of introduced brown rats.
Why are the numbers of birds like puffins
dropping so rapidly?
Warming seas affecting puffins’ food sources
are thought to be one of the main issues. While
fisheries may exacerbate the negative impact
of climate change on puffin prey, the evidence
invasive species
The arrival and/or spread of an invasive alien species (IAS)
can threaten the native biological diversity. When the likes of
rats reach islands they impact massively on local seabirds.
is pointing towards sea warming causing
broad disruption to the entire food web in the
North Atlantic, from plankton through to small
shoaling fish, puffins, kittiwakes and other
species of seabirds.
Puffins provide a good example of the
multiple pressures placed on our seabird
populations. They are also impacted by
bycatch in some fisheries, invasive species, and
even being hunted for food. Joined-up and
collaborative approaches are therefore required
to tackle the dangers to seabird survival at sea
and at nesting sites.
What can our readers do to help?
Use your consumer power. If you eat fish, look
for the blue Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
label and pick species ranked one or two on
the Good Fish Guide. Support organisations
that stand up for seabirds, from local
groups protecting specific colonies to global
partnerships such as BirdLife International.
Visit a nesting colony, too! The oceans and
their magnificent seabirds might feel distant
from our daily lives but the UK holds some
amazing seabird sites. Breeding colonies are
inspiring places, bursting with noise and colour.
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