Seabirds get an '18' Certificate

Major Government bodies and NGOs nest together to help protect wild birds and the marine environment

3 November 2009

Eighteen organisations with an interest in nature conservation and ecological research will today sign a major agreement that will see the sharing of valuable species data. This information will be invaluable in helping us monitor the health of our seas and the wildlife they support. The agreement is the latest flight forward for the Seabird Monitoring Programme (‘SMP’), celebrating its 20^th anniversary this year. A website-based reporting system will also be unveiled as part of today’s launch meeting at Edinburgh Zoo.

The SMP provides information to help agencies work to maintain seabird populations in Britain and Ireland. It ensures that sufficient data on breeding numbers and appropriate demographic and behavioural information on seabirds are collected, both regionally and nationally. These enable their status to be assessed, and to monitor the impacts of ecosystem pressures, such as climate change, fisheries and non-native mammalian predators.

Dr Andrew Stott, JNCC’s Science Director, said “This agreement marks an exciting time for seabird conservation in the UK. The Partnership demonstrates a commitment by all partners to cooperate effectively for the benefit of seabirds. Combining resources and expertise will help to ensure the wealth of available information about seabirds is put to best use, at a time when we are seeing worrying declines in some species, such as the kittiwake and Arctic tern."

Dr Richard Luxmoore, Senior Nature Conservation Advisor of The National Trust for Scotland, commented: “The National Trust for Scotland is delighted to be taking an active role in this vital programme. As the guardians of nearly 10 per cent of all of the breeding seabirds in the European Union, we believe that we have a particular responsibility to monitor their fortunes. Seabirds are known to be impacted by climate change, which is occurring six times as fast in the sea as it is on land, and they can provide early warning of its effects.”

Prof Sarah Wanless, senior ecologist at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, said “Our study site on the Isle of May National Nature Reserve is one of the key monitoring sites within the Seabird Monitoring Programme. We welcome this new agreement which will bring together data from across the UK, providing fresh insights into the impacts of climate change, fisheries and offshore developments on seabirds.”

The agreement will continue until 2015, subject to the outcome of annual reviews. It has relevance to both Britain and Ireland (including the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands).

- ENDS -

Notes to editors:

1. The organisations involved in the Seabird Monitoring Partnership (SMP) Statement of Intent are as follows:

• BirdWatch Ireland
• The British Trust for Ornithology
• Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
• Countryside Council for Wales
• Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (Isle of Man)
• Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Republic of Ireland)
• States of Guernsey Government
• JNCC
• Manx Birdlife
• Manx National Heritage
• The National Trust
• National Trust for Scotland
• Natural England
• Northern Ireland Environment Agency
• The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
• Scottish Natural Heritage
• Seabird Group
• Shetland Oil Terminal Environmental Advisory Group
• Scottish Wildlife Trust

2.   “Seabird” means any species of Procellariidae (fulmars and shearwaters), Hydrobatidae (storm-petrels), Sulidae (gannets), Phalacrocoracidae (cormorants and shags); Stercorariidae (skuas), Laridae (gulls), Sternidae (terns) and Alcidae (auks).  There are 25 such species regularly breeding in Britain and Ireland. The SMP also includes Red-throated diver (Gavia stellata).

3. Amazing facts and figures!

During the 20 year history of the SMP, in Britain and Ireland…

• An arctic tern breeding in Shetland and wintering in Antarctica will have migrated over 700,000km, enough for it to have flown to the moon and back.

• Guillemots consumed over 4 million tonnes of fish, equivalent to eating the weight of 2000 blue whales each year.

• Kittiwakes  produced over 6 million chicks (though only a proportion will have survived to breed).

• The oldest known living wild bird, a Manx shearwater found breeding on Bardsey Island, NW Wales was already over 35 years old when the SMP started.

• It would take one person at least 1000 breeding seasons  to collect the 56,000 species records that many have already contributed to the SMP.

4. The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) is the statutory adviser to Government on UK and international nature conservation, on behalf of the Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside, the Countryside Council for Wales, Natural England and Scottish Natural Heritage. Its work contributes to maintaining and enriching biological diversity, conserving geological features and sustaining natural systems. 

5. For science staff interviews and further information (including images to support this release) please call JNCC’s Communications Team on 01733 866839, or .