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We can save Scotland’s seabirds – but the Scottish Government must act now
Scotland’s seabirds are iconic, but in crisis. Join us in telling the Scottish Government we need urgent action to bring them back from the brink.
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The UK’s seabird stronghold
Scotland’s coastlines and islands are home to more than half of the UK’s seabirds. It’s here where you’ll find around 60% of the world’s Great Skuas, those pirates of the seas, and over 40% of the world’s Northern Gannets, which plunge into the depths at 60mph to catch fish. Long-ranging Arctic Terns, smartly dressed Puffins, and a host of other species also have their strongholds in Scotland.
Devastating declines
But right now, so many of Scotland’s seabirds are in real trouble. Seventy percent of populations are in decline because of pressures including climate change, food shortages, invasive predators on breeding islands and accidental bycatch when fishing. Combined, this has caused Scotland’s seabird populations to fall by half since the 1980s. And that’s before the devastating effects of Avian Flu which swept through many colonies.
The most recent Birds of Conservation Concern report spells out how bad things are. Of the 23 species of seabird that make their home and raise their young in Scotland, nine are now included on the Red List – which means they’ve suffered severe national declines or are threatened with global extinction. There are 12 on the amber list, and only two on the green list.
Our seabird numbers can soar again
We don’t want to live in a Scotland where the sound of seabird cries on our coasts and islands falls silent. And we don’t have to, we know how to turn this around.
Seabirds need three things to survive:
- Safe places to breed and rear their young.
- Plentiful supplies of food to feed themselves and their chicks.
- To survive long enough to successfully breed – many seabirds are long-lived species that take a while to mature and only lay one or two eggs a year.
The action we need to see
For our seabirds to recover and then thrive, we need the Scottish Government to launch and implement a strong, well-resourced and effective Scottish Seabird Action Plan. It needs to have clear, ambitious and timebound actions that will halt and reverse declines.
The plan must set out how we can:
- Ensure plentiful seabird prey fish supplies
- End the ongoing bycatch of seabirds in fisheries
- Clear all Scottish seabird islands of invasive predators - and prevent them from returning
- Protect the most important areas for seabirds, on land and at sea
- Make sure marine planning works for our climate and our wildlife
If delivered these actions will build resilience in our seabird populations so they can cope with the many different future threats they will face.
RSPB Scotland’s Head of Marine Policy, Helen McLachlan said:
This is urgent. This is a ‘house is burning’ situation. Our seabirds are really up against it and we need to be taking action now”
Speak up for our seabirds!
With your help, our seabirds can thrive once more along our coast, fly high above our islands. These true birds of the sea can spend months out of sight, patrolling the waves, only coming briefly to land to breed and rear their young. Join us and together we can tell the Scottish Government to implement vital measures to bring our beloved seabirds back from the brink.
We've made it easy to email the team working on the Scottish Seabird Conservation Action Plan so you can have your say. Add your voice now and together we can send a clear message to Scottish Ministers that they must act now for a future where our seabirds thrive.
Thank you.
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