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Scottish seabird fluctuations
Marine Pollution Bulletin
earlier Great Britain Survey by the Nature Conservancy Council, and in turn it is hoped that lessons learned from the Northern Ireland Survey may be of value for the NCC Marine Nature Conservation Review (see Mar. Pollut. Bull. 19, 5). The information gained will be used to determine localities around the coast of Northern Ireland which merit protection as nature conservation areas, such as marine nature reserves or areas of special scientific interest.
TREVOR TELFER
Scottish Seabird Fluctuations The numbers of most British seabirds have been increasing steadily ever since they were first protected a century ago. Others, such as the auks and terns, have fluctuated over the years, but with the solitary exception of the one species with a tropical range elsewhere, the Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii, have been doing well recently. It became a matter of interest how long it could last, until eventually in early August 1988 the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds put out a press release announcing with alarm and despondency that many species had failed to breed successfully in Shetland this year, attributing it to over-fishing for sand-eels Ammodytes sp., a suggestion indignantly repudiated by the fishermen. There has since been a meeting in Shetland to discuss the problem, which subsequently provided the theme for the autumn conference of the Scottish Ornithologists' Club. Apparently the species which has suffered worst is the Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea, which rears its chicks on young sand-eels caught at the water surface and has raised few young since 1983 (though the C o m m o n Terns S. hirundo, which take other fish, may have done better). The Kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla have also reared few young since 1985, and the Puffins Fratercula arctica for the last two years. The Arctic Skuas Stercorarius parasiticus, which parasitize these species, and to a lesser extent the Great Skuas Catharacta skua, Redthroated Divers Gavia arctica, Fulmars Fulmarus glacialis, Razorbills Alca torda, Black Guillemots Cepphus grylle, and Eiders Somateria mollissima, may also be in difficulties. Larger species which travel further or dive deeper, such as the Gannet Sula bassana, Cormorant and Shag Phalacrocorax carbo and P. aristotelis, and Guillemot Uria aalge have escaped. Similar problems have occurred locally to a lesser degree elsewhere all round Britain, terns failing to rear their young as far south as the English Channel. The auks, which had been flourishing on the north-east coast of Britain in recent years, are apparently also doing less well there now. There are several possible reasons. While the early summer of 1988 was fine, and may have led to premature stratification of the water at sea making it difficult for the birds to catch food at the surface, the latter part was stormy, though possibly too late to explain the seabird breeding failure. The decline of the sand-eels, which are apparently only fished by 2 0 - 3 0 boats, may be associated with a resurgence of the Herring Clupea harengus, which suffered from 4
earlier overfishing, and it is notable that the Gannets, which can catch Herring, are not among the species which have suffered. Thus is appears that the present fluctuations may in fact involve a return to a previous state of affairs before a temporary proliferation of sand-eels allowed the birds to increase, rather than any more ominous disaster. It was pointed out to the SOC by the senior Shetland ornithologist, Bobby Tulloch, that in fact a century ago there were only a handful of Fulmars and Great Skuas in Shetland where there are now clouds in any case, and the discovery of vast numbers of Arctic Terns feeding at sea around the northern isles was the greatest surprise of the first seabird census, 'Operation Seafarer', in 1969, and may not be the normal state of affairs. As in the case of the seals which have recently suffered from an epidemic, Scottish seabirds have been doing unusually well recently, and it was not a great surprise to see them have a setback, though it is interesting to see the form it has taken.
W. R. P. BOURNE
MEDSPA The most recent in a series of Mediterranean action plans has been adopted at a meeting of the European Commission. Known as MEDSPA, the plan aims to set guidelines for the allocation of finance to environment projects within the Mediterranean area. If approved by the Council the ten-year scheme will begin in 1989. Under the MEDSPA programme all projects will be carried out within existing EC funding rules and undertaken in co-operation with similar projects currently being run by other international organizations, such as the United Nations Environment Programme (see Mar. Pollut. Bull. 18,574). To receive support under the M E D S P A scheme, projects will need to meet the following criteria: 1. the project should be specific to the Mediterranean area; 2. it must be of common interest to several countries in the region; and 3. there must be need for urgent action. The Commission has already named a number of specific problems which it feels should have priority. One of these is the provision of port reception facilities throughout the Mediterranean in order to comply with Annexes I and II of M A R P O L (see Mar. Pollut. Bull. 18, 260). These facilities will be designed to receive contaminated water from oil and chemical tankers. Financing the establishment of facilities to treat used water and the building of sewage treatment plants has also been given priority. The conservation of wetlands, the turtle, and the monk seal are also considered important issues. In addition, the Commission has proposed action against the rehabilitation of sites contaminated with toxic or dangerous waste.
A New Marine Park near Alicante In recent years the University of Alicante has carried on a programme of interdisciplinary research on marine
earlier Great Britain Survey by the Nature Conservancy Council, and in turn it is hoped that lessons learned from the Northern Ireland Survey may be of value for the NCC Marine Nature Conservation Review (see Mar. Pollut. Bull. 19, 5). The information gained will be used to determine localities around the coast of Northern Ireland which merit protection as nature conservation areas, such as marine nature reserves or areas of special scientific interest.
TREVOR TELFER
Scottish Seabird Fluctuations The numbers of most British seabirds have been increasing steadily ever since they were first protected a century ago. Others, such as the auks and terns, have fluctuated over the years, but with the solitary exception of the one species with a tropical range elsewhere, the Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii, have been doing well recently. It became a matter of interest how long it could last, until eventually in early August 1988 the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds put out a press release announcing with alarm and despondency that many species had failed to breed successfully in Shetland this year, attributing it to over-fishing for sand-eels Ammodytes sp., a suggestion indignantly repudiated by the fishermen. There has since been a meeting in Shetland to discuss the problem, which subsequently provided the theme for the autumn conference of the Scottish Ornithologists' Club. Apparently the species which has suffered worst is the Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea, which rears its chicks on young sand-eels caught at the water surface and has raised few young since 1983 (though the C o m m o n Terns S. hirundo, which take other fish, may have done better). The Kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla have also reared few young since 1985, and the Puffins Fratercula arctica for the last two years. The Arctic Skuas Stercorarius parasiticus, which parasitize these species, and to a lesser extent the Great Skuas Catharacta skua, Redthroated Divers Gavia arctica, Fulmars Fulmarus glacialis, Razorbills Alca torda, Black Guillemots Cepphus grylle, and Eiders Somateria mollissima, may also be in difficulties. Larger species which travel further or dive deeper, such as the Gannet Sula bassana, Cormorant and Shag Phalacrocorax carbo and P. aristotelis, and Guillemot Uria aalge have escaped. Similar problems have occurred locally to a lesser degree elsewhere all round Britain, terns failing to rear their young as far south as the English Channel. The auks, which had been flourishing on the north-east coast of Britain in recent years, are apparently also doing less well there now. There are several possible reasons. While the early summer of 1988 was fine, and may have led to premature stratification of the water at sea making it difficult for the birds to catch food at the surface, the latter part was stormy, though possibly too late to explain the seabird breeding failure. The decline of the sand-eels, which are apparently only fished by 2 0 - 3 0 boats, may be associated with a resurgence of the Herring Clupea harengus, which suffered from 4
earlier overfishing, and it is notable that the Gannets, which can catch Herring, are not among the species which have suffered. Thus is appears that the present fluctuations may in fact involve a return to a previous state of affairs before a temporary proliferation of sand-eels allowed the birds to increase, rather than any more ominous disaster. It was pointed out to the SOC by the senior Shetland ornithologist, Bobby Tulloch, that in fact a century ago there were only a handful of Fulmars and Great Skuas in Shetland where there are now clouds in any case, and the discovery of vast numbers of Arctic Terns feeding at sea around the northern isles was the greatest surprise of the first seabird census, 'Operation Seafarer', in 1969, and may not be the normal state of affairs. As in the case of the seals which have recently suffered from an epidemic, Scottish seabirds have been doing unusually well recently, and it was not a great surprise to see them have a setback, though it is interesting to see the form it has taken.
W. R. P. BOURNE
MEDSPA The most recent in a series of Mediterranean action plans has been adopted at a meeting of the European Commission. Known as MEDSPA, the plan aims to set guidelines for the allocation of finance to environment projects within the Mediterranean area. If approved by the Council the ten-year scheme will begin in 1989. Under the MEDSPA programme all projects will be carried out within existing EC funding rules and undertaken in co-operation with similar projects currently being run by other international organizations, such as the United Nations Environment Programme (see Mar. Pollut. Bull. 18,574). To receive support under the M E D S P A scheme, projects will need to meet the following criteria: 1. the project should be specific to the Mediterranean area; 2. it must be of common interest to several countries in the region; and 3. there must be need for urgent action. The Commission has already named a number of specific problems which it feels should have priority. One of these is the provision of port reception facilities throughout the Mediterranean in order to comply with Annexes I and II of M A R P O L (see Mar. Pollut. Bull. 18, 260). These facilities will be designed to receive contaminated water from oil and chemical tankers. Financing the establishment of facilities to treat used water and the building of sewage treatment plants has also been given priority. The conservation of wetlands, the turtle, and the monk seal are also considered important issues. In addition, the Commission has proposed action against the rehabilitation of sites contaminated with toxic or dangerous waste.
A New Marine Park near Alicante In recent years the University of Alicante has carried on a programme of interdisciplinary research on marine