Oceanography Committee ICES CM 2002/C:04 Ref. ACME, ACE, E and F Report of the Working Group on Seabird Ecology ICES Headquarters 8–11 March 2002 This report is not to be quoted without prior consultation with the General Secretary. The document is a report of an expert group under the auspices of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea and does not necessarily represent the views of the Council. International Council for the Exploration of the Sea Conseil International pour l’Exploration de la Mer Palægade 2–4 DK–1261 Copenhagen K Denmark TABLE OF CONTENTS Section Page 1 INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Participation.................................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Terms of Reference......................................................................................................................................... 1 1.3 Justification of Terms of Reference ................................................................................................................ 1 1.4 Overview by the Chair .................................................................................................................................... 2 1.5 Note on bird names ......................................................................................................................................... 3 1.6 Acknowledgements......................................................................................................................................... 3 2 POPULATION ESTIMATES FOR BREEDING SEABIRDS IN ICES AREAS ..................................................... 3 2.1 Introduction..................................................................................................................................................... 3 2.2 Results............................................................................................................................................................. 4 3 FOOD CONSUMPTION BY SEABIRDS IN ICES AREAS.................................................................................. 13 3.1 Introduction................................................................................................................................................... 13 3.2 Results and discussion .................................................................................................................................. 13 4 STATUS OF SEABIRDS IN THE NORTH SEA AND THREATS TO THEIR POPULATIONS........................ 14 4.1 Status of seabirds in the North Sea ............................................................................................................... 14 4.1.1 Data Sources ................................................................................................................................... 15 4.1.1.1 United Kingdom (UK) ................................................................................................... 15 4.1.1.2 Norway (NOR)............................................................................................................... 15 4.1.1.3 Sweden (SWE)............................................................................................................... 16 4.1.1.4 Denmark (DEN)............................................................................................................. 16 4.1.1.5 Germany (GER) ............................................................................................................. 16 4.1.1.6 Netherlands (HOL) and Belgium (BEL)........................................................................ 16 4.1.2 Methods for estimating population trends....................................................................................... 16 4.1.3 Trends in numbers of breeding birds .............................................................................................. 16 4.1.4 Trends in numbers of wintering birds ............................................................................................. 22 4.2 Threats to marine birds in the North Sea region ........................................................................................... 23 4.2.1 Fishery catches................................................................................................................................ 23 4.2.2 Fishery discarding practices............................................................................................................ 23 4.2.3 By-catch in fishing gear.................................................................................................................. 24 4.2.4 Mariculture...................................................................................................................................... 24 4.2.5 Oil pollution.................................................................................................................................... 24 4.2.6 Disturbance ..................................................................................................................................... 24 4.2.7 Marine wind farms.......................................................................................................................... 24 4.2.8 Conflict with other species.............................................................................................................. 24 4.2.9 Predation by introduced predators .................................................................................................. 25 4.3 References..................................................................................................................................................... 26 5 REVIEW OF METHODS FOR ASSESSING SEABIRD VULNERABILITY TO OIL POLLUTION................. 28 5.1 Introduction................................................................................................................................................... 28 5.2 Studies........................................................................................................................................................... 28 5.2.1 King and Sanger (1979).................................................................................................................. 28 5.2.2 Ford et al. (1982) ............................................................................................................................ 29 5.2.3 Tasker and Pienkowski (1987)........................................................................................................ 30 5.2.4 Anker-Nilssen (1987)...................................................................................................................... 30 5.2.5 Camphuysen (1989)........................................................................................................................ 30 5.2.6 Speich et al. (1991)......................................................................................................................... 31 5.2.7 Carter et al. (1993).......................................................................................................................... 32 5.3 Discussion..................................................................................................................................................... 32 5.4 Recommendations......................................................................................................................................... 35 5.5 References..................................................................................................................................................... 36 6 EFFECTS OF MARINE WIND FARMS ON BIRDS............................................................................................. 37 6.1 Introduction................................................................................................................................................... 37 6.2 Use of marine areas by birds......................................................................................................................... 37 6.3 Importance of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea for birds............................................................................. 37 6.3.1 Internationally important bird populations in the North Sea and Baltic Sea................................... 37 6.3.2 Bird migration over the sea............................................................................................................. 38 6.4 Effects of wind farms on birds...................................................................................................................... 38 6.4.1 General overview............................................................................................................................ 38 6.4.2 Collision with wind turbines........................................................................................................... 38 i TABLE OF CONTENTS Section Page 6.4.3 Habitat modification ....................................................................................................................... 39 6.4.4 Disturbance and barrier effect......................................................................................................... 40 6.4.5 Secondary effects...........................................................................................................................