Seabirds are in drastic decline, warns RSPB as it calls for action
URGENT action must be taken to reverse the “drastic declines” in seabird populations on Britain’s coasts, the head of the has RSPB said, ahead of the charity’s 130th anniversary in 2019.
The RSPB was founded in 1889 by Emily Williamson who was appalled that hundreds of thousands of birds were being killed to decorate hats.
It reached one million members in 1997 and has been pivotal in re-establishing populations of ospreys, bee-eaters, choughs, bitterns, red kites, cranes, cirl buntings, white-tailed eagles and manx shearwaters, as well as creating more than 200 wildlife reserves.
But Mike Clarke, the RSPB’s chief executive said more work was needed to protect coastal birds, that had experienced dramatic declines in recent years.
“On and around our coasts we will be pushing for urgent action and the creation of essential protections to reverse the drastic declines in both our fish stocks and the populations of many seabird colonies, creating the conditions so that our seas are well-managed for nature too,” he told The Sunday Telegraph. “The pace and scale of change in the world around us is getting faster and more profound.
“Our natural world is vanishing before our eyes, and we need urgent action to save our wildlife and the habitats they depend on. This will not be a simple process, but it is necessary. Inspired by our amazing heritage and track record of evolving, we will reshape the way we work to meet the threats to nature.” Populations of seabirds have dropped by up to 70 per cent since the middle of the 20th century.
A census earlier this year on the Farne Islands found that thousands of puffins had vanished since the last count in 2013, with the population now estimated at just 35,000 pairs. At the current rate of decline, conservationists forecast that the entire colony could vanish within 50 years.
In August the RSPB warned that Scotland’s population of Arctic skuas could become extinct if the decline in numbers is not halted after populations fell by 81 per cent since 1992 to just 550 pairs.
Shetland’s kittiwake population has plummeted from more than 55,000 in 1981 to just 5,000 today. On the islands of Dalsetter and Troswick, Arctic tern numbers have fallen from, 9,000 in 2000 to just over 100 today. On St Kilda, there has been a 99 per cent reduction in kittiwake nests since 1990.
Studies have found that many birds are suffering from the effects of climate change and plastic pollution in the oceans. Some dead birds are now being found with more than 250 pieces of plastic inside their stomachs.
A recent study from the University of Aberdeen found that seabirds were the most vulnerable category of birds, due to the competition they face from the fishing industry for food.
The scientists found that annual fishery catches had risen from 59 to 65 million tons a year since the Seventies.
Dr Aurore Ponchon, from the university’s school of biological sciences, who co-led the study, said: “As we know that most of seabird species cannot easily change their diet, it is unlikely that they will switch to other prey species, so fisheries might partly be responsible for the observed seabird population decline.
“Competition with fisheries add up with other threats such as climate change, breeding habitat destruction or pollution, which makes the world seabird population at risk.”
Mr Clarke said: “We need to not just inspire people from all walks of life from politicians to schoolchildren to recognise and understand their connection with nature, but we must motivate and provide the tools for every individual to take action and every organisation to recognise it can be part of the solution.”