Gannets breed in spectacular cliff colonies at sites including Bass Rock and Bempton Cliffs, and their welfare is affected by plastic entanglement in nest material, bycatch in fisheries and prey depletion.
Gannet welfare is primarily threatened by plastic nest material entanglement, which is a direct consequence of marine plastic pollution. Chicks that become entangled in plastic strands suffer injury and death, while adults remain entangled throughout the breeding season. Removing plastic from nesting material sources requires reducing marine plastic pollution at the landscape scale.