Fishing accidentally kills 200,000 seabirds a year in Europe

Around 200,000 seabirds die every year due to accidental capture during fishing in European waters, including six species that are endangered in the region, a study published on Wednesday shows.

The study, carried out under the responsibility of the international bird conservation organisation BirdLife International in collaboration with the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA), warns that the figures may only be the “tip of the iceberg” as many coastal countries do not have estimates, and if they do, they rarely include the country’s entire fishing fleet.

The document notes that out of 200,000 seabirds, 150,000 die in EU waters.

“This study highlights not only the importance but also the urgency of developing a National Action Plan to Minimize Incidental Catch in Fisheries,” said Ana Almeida, a marine conservation technician at SPEA, quoted in a statement by the Portuguese association.

He adds: “We are working with the responsible government agencies to develop this plan, which should be ready by the end of the year. Monitoring this problem has been very important, but it is not enough. Finding and implementing solutions that mitigate this problem is critical to ensuring the sustainability of fishing activities and maintaining the availability of marine resources for future generations.”

Also in a statement about the study, BirdLife International warns that seabirds are one of the most threatened bird groups in Europe, with more than a third of species suffering population declines.

Among the threats to breeding colonies on land, the organization cites invasive species and “habitat” disturbance, and cites other threats at sea, overfishing and renewable energy infrastructure (such as wind farms), as examples.

Climate change, he adds, “increases pressure throughout the life cycle” of birds.

The organisation notes that the threats are easy to manage and that in many cases “relatively simple changes in fishing methods or modifications to fishing gear can significantly reduce the number of birds killed.”

“We hope that this analysis will help researchers, fisheries managers, governments and many other stakeholders in the marine sector understand the scale of seabird bycatch in Europe. The figures are alarming and confirm that bycatch is one of the major threats to migratory seabirds that breed in or visit European waters,” says BirdLife International.

According to the organization, the most alarming numbers of incidental catches have been recorded in gillnets in the Baltic Sea and north-east Atlantic, and in longlines in the north-east Atlantic and Mediterranean.