On the day BBC2 broadcasts Saving our Seabirds, a film exploring catastrophic declines and unprecedented breeding failures of Britain’s much-loved puffins, kittiwakes and other sea birds, the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) is once again calling for Marine Reserves Now to protect our precious marine wildlife.

Saving our Seabirds investigates the various causes of the loss of some of Britain’s best-known birds, including one major factor, the fishing of sand eels, a crucial food source that parent seabirds feed to their chicks. Food shortages have led to serious breeding failures for Britain’s puffins, kittiwakes, guillemots and terns, with 2004 being the worst year on record for many North Sea colonies. In 2005 the problem spread to the west coast, exemplified by a 1,000 pair-strong colony of kittiwakes on the island of Canna that produced only 5 fledglings for the season.

To protect Britain’s marine wildlife from over-exploitation, MCS is lobbying the UK government to introduce a Marine Bill to provide for a network of Highly Protected Marine Reserves (HPMR) in Britain’s territorial waters, areas of the sea closed off from all fishing, mining and other extractive industries. Currently there is only one HPMR at Lundy Island measuring only 3.3km2 and representing less than 0.002% of our coastal waters. The Government has introduced a Marine Bill White Paper that they are presently consulting on, but we now need the Marine Bill itself to be laid before parliament in 2008. MCS is encouraging the public to add its support by voting for Marine Reserves Now via an online petition at www.marinereservesnow.org.uk.

MCS Biodiversity Policy Officer, Dr Jean-Luc Solandt says:
These seabird breeding failures highlight the fact that it is high time our government and the European Commission permanently protect significant areas of seabed and the water column from fishing and other extractive activities. Evidence from abroad on the Grand Banks, and closer to home at Lundy Island and The Isle of Man has shown that closing areas of sea from fishing can provide considerable benefits to marine wildlife, including commercial species such as scallops, lobster and flounder.

The Scottish seabird decline isn’t just linked to the sand eel fisheries. Declines in sand eel populations in the North Sea have also coincided with a 10C warming of the sea surface temperature in recent years. This has led to northward shifts in the plankton that sand eels feed on, which may have also contributed to sand eel population collapse. While there probably isn’t a single reason why Britain’s sea birds are declining, the effects of climate change are likely to be compounded by the extensive fishing of sand eels and other species in the North Sea.

To help our marine wildlife cope with the affect of climate change, MCS has joined forces with Kate Humble, the British Sub Aqua Club and several UK Public Aquaria, to call for Marine Reserves Now – for more information see www.mcsuk.org/mcsaction/marinereserves/campaign+update

WHEN YOU CLICK ON LINKS TO VARIOUS MERCHANTS ON THIS SITE AND MAKE A PURCHASE, THIS CAN RESULT IN THIS SITE EARNING A COMMISSION. AFFILIATE PROGRAMS AND AFFILIATIONS INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO, THE EBAY PARTNER NETWORK AND AMAZON

About the author

Anglers' Net

Pin It on Pinterest