The last seabird summer? Not if we can help it!

The last seabird summer? Not if we can help it!

Alex Kinninmonth is Head of Marine Policy at RSPB Scotland.

Tonight at 9pm I’ll be settling down to watch the BBC4 documentary “The Last Seabird Summer?”

In the first of two episodes, the writer Adam Nicolson follows the story of the seabirds on the Shiant Isles in the Outer Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland. This spectacular and remote group of islands are one of the most important seabird places in Europe and as the Nicolson family have been custodians of the Isles since the 1930s it’s a location that Adam knows intimately.

Adam will tell the tale of an historic dependence on seabirds, and how they played a central role in the daily life and culture on remote islands like the Shiant Isles and St Kilda. Today a deep connection to seabirds is part of the character of many Scottish communities and they provide sustenance for the soul to thousands of visitors wishing to experience spectacular seabird cities, not to mention significant sums of money into local economies.  

Yet we are currently witnessing a seabird crisis with populations of Arctic skuas, kittiwakes and other species in freefall. As Scotland is home to around a third of the breeding seabirds in the EU this is not only a Scottish problem but one of international significance. The cause of these declines is complex but we do know that for there to be any chance of recovery we have to provide safe places on terra firma where they can breed and also ensure our seas are healthy with an abundance of food.

An example of what can be done to help seabirds on land is the Shiant Isles Recovery Project, a four-year project part funded by the EU LIFE+ programme, where the Nicolsons, RSPB Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage are working in partnership to make these islands a safe haven for more seabirds. While 10 per cent of UK puffins and 7 per cent of UK razorbills breed there every year they have the potential for more species were it not for the threat from a non-native population of black rats that are known to consume eggs and chicks on the islands.

After a long and challenging winter it is hoped that the Shiant Isles will follow the recent success of St Agnes and Gugh in the Isles of Scilly and be officially declared rat-free. In time we hope the islands will see thriving populations of Manx shearwaters and storm petrels.  

RSPB Scotland and others have been campaigning for some time for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) to safeguard Scotland’s life beneath the waves, including seabirds and the prey they rely on. As we await further progress on protected sites at sea for seabirds one of Britain’s most remote inhabited islands has been developing its own exciting proposal that is subject to a public consultation launched today.

The proposal will see Scotland’s first Demonstration and Research MPA created in the seas around Fair Isle. Unlike more familiar protected areas on land and sea Demonstration and Research MPAs are not designed around the conservation of specific species or habitats but are targeted at demonstrating and/or carrying out research on the sustainable use of marine resources in a particular area. Although Fair Isle is home to a great variety of bird species several of its seabird populations have experienced dramatic population declines since the 1990s.

The Fair Isle Marine Environment & Tourism Initiative (FIMETI) has been doggedly developing the proposal over the last few years, which once created will provide a better understanding of the changes that have occurred in the seas so that appropriate management can be put in place. The MPA would also give the Fair Isle community an opportunity to pioneer collaborative management within Scottish seas - with a partnership of the community, commercial fishermen, research institutes and others all on board.  If successful it will serve as a beacon for change way beyond its dramatic sea cliffs.

You can add your support for the MPA proposal by responding to the consultation here.