Northern gannet Morus bassanus, dying from bird flu, Ling Ness, Eswick, Shetland, Scotland, June 2022 © RSPB - Credit: Ashley Cooper (rspb-images.com)
Policy Assistant for Avian Influenza, Jean Duggan, reflects on the recent findings from the HPAI Seabird Surveys Project and the realities of HPAI as an additional threat to our seabirds, and outlines the critical steps that need to be taken to safeguard their future.
Our seabirds are in crisis and the UK holds globally important populations of multiple species. The last seabird census, Seabirds Count (2015-2021), showed that there have been declines across 62% of UK seabird species since the previous census (completed in 2000), with this figure reaching 70% of species in Scotland, our seabird stronghold. These declines have been brought about by the myriad threats our seabirds are facing, including climate change, unsustainable fishing practices, offshore wind development and predation by non-native invasive species.
To make matters even worse, surveys for the census were completed before the catastrophic impacts of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) on these already struggling species, which are now facing this additional and major threat, as evidenced in our latest report.
In summer 2022, the devastating number of deaths reported among UK seabirds made it clear that HPAI, also known as bird flu, had become one of the biggest immediate conservation challenges for multiple seabird species, including some for which the UK is globally important. In response, the RSPB led on a UK-wide programme of additional targeted seabird population counts, using a coordinated and collaborative approach across the statutory bodies and conservation organisations.
Surveying Skuas on Shetland. Credit Joanne Monaghan
The project report is now out and the results are extremely worrying, confirming HPAI to be a major additional threat to our already struggling seabirds. Declines of over 10% have been found in most species surveyed and for three key species (Gannet, Great Skua and Roseate Tern, with declines of 25%, 76% and 21% respectively), these results have reversed previously positive population trends. Similarly, for Common and Sandwich Terns, both previously stable, our new surveys found declines of 42% and 35%, respectively. In other cases, the declines found come on top of existing declines. All in all, the report makes for difficult reading.
Global Ecological Crisis
Over the last three years, the current strain of HPAI (H5N1), which originated in intensive poultry operations in China, has developed into a global ecological crisis. This new data emphasises the need for UK governments to take HPAI into account as a serious human-generated threat that further highlights how critical and urgent resilience-building actions are for our vulnerable seabirds. The fact that the virus behaved very differently in the 2023 breeding season compared to 2022, both in terms of the dominant genotype in circulation and its geographic spread, points to the unpredictability of the disease. The current lull in cases in the UK should not be cause for downplaying the impacts it has already had nor the potential impacts going forward. As long as the virus remains present globally, UK seabirds are at risk.
Recently, our seabirds have been thrown a lifeline. The UK and Scottish Governments have announced closure of sandeel fisheries in English waters of the North Sea and in all Scottish waters. This will help to protect this small shoaling fish, which is a vital food source for many vulnerable seabird species, including Kittiwakes and Puffins.
Although this is very welcome news and shows how years of campaigning can come to fruition in the end, it is unfortunately not the only action needed. This step forward needs to provide momentum for progressing other much-needed actions to secure seabird recovery and achieve healthy seas, including:
On this last point, we need existing HPAI response plans for wild birds in England, Wales and Scotland to be amended (and in the case of Northern Ireland drafted) to reflect the new data from this report and to identify and link up with targeted recovery actions to build resilience in the worst-affected species. Among other things, response plans need to ensure effective monitoring, surveillance, research and reporting systems targeted at understanding the virus in wild bird populations and not just focused on protecting poultry.
It is imperative that the results of this most recent report serve as a wake-up call and propel the urgent action our seabirds so desperately need.
The virus continues to affect seabird populations and significant further mortalities were recorded in 2023 for species such as Black-headed Gulls, Kittiwakes, Guillemots and tern species. These impacts are not accounted for in our most recent surveys and attest to the ongoing reality of this major threat. Further monitoring is needed to assess ongoing impacts and how populations respond over time and to provide vital knowledge to inform conservation actions going forward.
If you’d like to support our work to help tackle the impacts of HPAI and other diseases, please visit our Wildlife Disease Fund webpage.
For more general information on HPAI and its impacts, please visit our Avian Flu Webpage.
Blogs:
A summer of seabird surveys: understanding avian influenza
Counting seabirds to understand the impacts of avian influenza
Videos:
Bird Flu Update
How the RSPB counts Great Skuas to better understand the impact of bird flu
How the RSPB counts seabirds at its Fowlsheugh nature reserve
Bird Flu Update from RSPB Scotland Troup Head nature reserve