TY - RPRT
TI - Joint OSPAR/HELCOM/ICES Working Group on Seabirds (JWGBIRDS; Outputs from 2022 Meeting)
AU - Dierschke, V
AU - Frederiksen, M
AU - Glemarec, G
AU - Markones, N
AU - Oliveira, N
AU - Parsons, M
AU - Vanermen, N
AB - This report summarises the outcomes of the Joint ICES/OSPAR/HELCOM Working Group on Seabirds informal consultation in 2022. The meeting consisted of a series of hybrid workshops, where in-person and online participants discussed the most pressing current issues for seabirds in the ICES, OSPAR, and HELCOM regions and addressed the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the working group.One of the main objectives of the meeting was to summarise the results of the marine bird indicator assessments done within the regional assessments of the Northeast Atlantic and the Baltic Sea. The group also reviewed and discussed issues related to marine birds in relation to human activities at sea as well as the responses being made to protect marine birds. Based on the work of JWGBIRD, supported among others by two EU-funded projects (NEA PANACEA, HELCOM BLUES), the assessment of the status of marine birds in the OSPAR and HELCOM regions were successfully completed. The results of the assessments are summarised in this report. The often-observed poor status of marine bird populations is a cause for concern and is the starting point for a Regional Action Plan for Marine Birds in the Northeast Atlantic (“RAP-bird”), being developed as part of OSPAR’s North East Atlantic Environment Strategy 2030, which was discussed during the meeting. The experts were asked for their opinion on which existing conservation measures being taken by OSPAR should be improved and which new ones should be introduced by RAP-bird. The Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) will also benefit from the assessment results, although BSAP was not formally addressed at the meeting. Moreover, the group reviewed the progress of seabird surveys at sea at regional level, which is susceptible to become a major data source in seabird ecology in future assessments. Information from at-sea-surveys is collated in an associated database recently moved from JNCC to the ICES Data Centre. Among the most important risk factors for marine birds is incidental bycatch in fishing gear. The meeting discussed current initiatives brought forward by ICES and the Regional Sea Conventions. However, despite the need for action, the assessment of the situation is difficult because there are too few data on bycatch from many areas and often fishing effort is not well monitored. The group also discussed the role of stranded bird surveys in the interpretation of population status. The importance of storm events on the survival of birds was highlighted. Examples from Portugal and Norway were used to demonstrate how stranding data can indicate acute risk factors such as plumage oiling and bycatch. Finally, marine birds were much more severely affected by an outbreak of the Highly Pathogenic H5N1 Avian Influenza virus (HPAI) in the summer of 2022 than ever before. This led to very high losses of individuals in some species (especially sandwich tern, northern gannet, and great skua), with both breeding adults and nestlings variously affected. At the meeting, some spectacular examples were discussed and the overall situation in Europe was reviewed.
DA - 2023/11//
PY - 2023
SP - 45
PB - International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES)
UR - https://ices-library.figshare.com/articles/report/Joint_OSPAR_HELCOM_ICES_Working_Group_on_Seabirds_JWGBIRD_outputs_from_2022_meeting_/24591936?file=43240602
DO - 10.17895/ices.pub.24591936
LA - English
KW - Wind Energy
KW - Fixed Offshore Wind
KW - Avoidance
KW - Birds
KW - Seabirds
ER -