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Posted: 5th September 2024

Seabird species added to conservation red list
The Arctic tern is one of five species added to the red list.
Common gull and Arctic tern among the species at risk.

Five seabird species have been added to UK red list for birds following a decline in numbers.

The additions bring the number of seabird species on the red list, which records the bird species in the most need of conservation efforts, to 10.

The species which have been added are the Arctic tern, Leach’s storm-petrel, common gull, great black-backed gull, and great skua. Already on the list were the kittiwake, herring gull, roseate tern, Arctic skua, and puffin.

However, despite the decline in other species, the shag moved from the red list to the amber list and the black guillemot moved from the amber to the green list.

The updates to the conservation lists have been published as an addendum to Birds of Conservation Concern 5. A total of 28 UK seabird species were assessed as part of a study conducted by organisations including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the British Trust for Ornithology.

Some species, such as the great skua, have been severely impacted by avian influenza. Other issues affecting seabird populations include changes in food supply due to climate change and overfishing, the development of offshore renewable energy, and the impact of invasive predators at nesting sites.

The UK is an important home for many seabird species. Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands support 96 per cent of the world’s breeding population of Manx shearwaters, as well as 70 per cent of the gannet and 64-67 per cent of the great skua breeding populations.

When the first Birds of Conservation Concern was published in 1996, there was just one seabird species on the red list. In response to the decline in populations, the RSPB is calling on governments to do more to protect seabird species.

Jo Luxton, global conservation director for the RSPB, said: “We need urgent action from our governments to address this dire situation to tackle the drivers of these declines and enable recovery.

“We are calling for robust and resourced seabird conservation strategies that can deliver rapid protection of seabird breeding islands from invasive predators, improvements in the Marine Protected Areas network for seabirds, better spatial planning of marine developments to avoid important areas, better fisheries management to ensure there are sufficient prey species and new measures on boats that tackle the bycatch of seabirds in fishing gear.”

The study has been published in the journal British Birds.

Image © Shutterstock



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