SEAGULLS ‘AT RISK’ AS NUMBERS FACE DECLINE
RAIDING bins, stealing chips from hapless tourists, and even occasionally attacking pedestrians, they appear to be abundant in numbers.
But seagulls have suffered such alarming population declines in Ireland, they are now considered to be “at risk”.
Although still the quintessential sight and sound of our coasts, the herring gull – as it is officially known – has been placed on the national “red list”, which means they are of “high conservation concern”.
The population of breeding pairs has plummeted by 90% over the past 30 years – from approximately 150,000 to between just 15,000 and 20,000 today. The decline of the fishing industry is cited as one of the major factors behind their fall in numbers, conservationists believe.
Development officer at Birdwatch Ireland, Niall Hatch, said: “There are many different species of gulls in Ireland, but it’s the herring gull most people mistakenly refer to as a seagull, and anecdotally people think the numbers of herring gulls are actually increasing.
“That’s not actually the case. It’s because they are now more common in towns and urban areas than they used to be, but in actual fact the species has declined massively over the last few decades.
“We’d certainly be concerned about their numbers and that’s why they are on the red list.” Mr Hatch acknowledged reports of seagulls attacking people have become more commonplace.
He said: “They are attracted to litter, overflowing bins and, of course, people feeding them chips.”
Number of seagulls there is estimated to be left in Ireland