What were a Gannet and a Black Guillemot doing in Cardiff on Wednesday morning? Well on Wednesday 22 may we (that’s RSPB Cymru and 25 other wildlife orgsniations) launched the State of Nature Report in Techniquest, down in Cardiff Bay. For a low down on the evening go to this blog. But to give the day a marine feel and to grab some attention, the two of us made our way to the steps of the Sennedd to hand out personal invites to our AMs, dressed as an oversized Gannet and Black Guillemot!
With over 1,300 miles of coastline, Wales is an exceptional place for its marine wildlife! RSPB Grassholm with its 39,000 gannets is the third largest colony on the planet, that’s means one in ten of the world's gannets live there. Ynys Feurig, Cemlyn Bay the Skerries are also internationally important, and are home to Sandwich, common and Arctic terns, 3000 pairs of Arctics make their home on the Skerries - the largest UK colony.
But its not just birds! 40% of the world’s population of Atlantic grey seals can be found in the UK. The largest colonies in the Irish Sea are found around the Welsh coastline, particularly on Skomer and RSPB Ramsey Island. There are believed to be approximately 200 bottlenose dolphins in Cardigan Bay, which is one of only two semi-resident bottlenose dolphin populations in the whole of the UK.
But our marine wildlife is under threat and many species are in decline.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN),uses a traffic light system to show at risk species globally. Of the 37 species of seabirds listed by the IUCN, 10 found in Wales are on the red list (most at threat), These include Puffins and arctic terns. Only five species are listed as green (doing ok), that mean a staggering 22 are in amber - a worrying trend of decline.
The impacts on our marine life are many and varied, often suffering from an out of sight – out of mind mentality.
Just this year we’ve seen the devastating impacts of winter storms on Puffins in the North sea, with thousands expected dead. The effects of climate change are increasing the frequency of extreme weather events, its another pressure these birds could do without.
But its not just climate change, marine pollution takes its toll. Already this year we’ve witnessed thousands of deaths linked to multiple at sea releases of polyisobutene or PIBs .You can read more about that here and the work we are doing to prevent further disasters.
Are there any solutions?
We are still campaigning for a complete network of marine protected sites for seabirds. We have a number of sites where our seabirds breed, but very little protection for where they actively feed or undertake other essential activities such as mating rituals.
Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) provide a useful tool to create much needed space to protect both the rare and nationally important species, like bottlenose dolphins, but to also protect the common species – to avoid them becoming rare in the future. Coupled with sensible management of activities at sea we can provide the protection our marine wildlife needs and support truly sustainable activities.
Working in partnership
But we can’t do it alone! The seas are a big place, almost doubling the size of Wales. Only by working in partnership with Government and marine users can we begin to create a sustainable marine environment in Wales. One that ensures recovery of our declining species and creates a real future for all our amazing marine wildlife.
What can you do?
We are committed to driving the changes that needs to happen, but we don’t have all the answers. In his speech at the launch of the State of Nature Report on Wednesday in London, Sir David Attenborough concluded that 'This is a call to arms. The future of Nature lies with you all, and it is a necessity on behalf of the people of this country.'
I couldn’t agree with him more, if you have thoughts on how we can deliver a brighter future for our marine environment we’d love to hear from you. Gareth Cunningham is Marine Policy Officer for RSPB Cymru.