Wildlife

Seabird Chick Welfare and Parental Feeding

Seabird chick welfare depends critically on parental feeding success, which is increasingly compromised by reduced fish availability in warming seas.

Key Facts

Puffin and kestrel chicks starve when parents cannot find sufficient sandeel prey
Warming seas shift fish distributions and depths making them harder to catch
Some colonies have experienced complete breeding failures in years of low fish abundance
Arctic terns travel from pole to pole following productive sea areas for fish
UK seabird productivity has declined significantly in the North Sea

Welfare Considerations

Seabird chick starvation is a welfare harm affecting thousands of individuals in poor fish availability years. Hungry chicks are unable to regulate body temperature effectively, are more vulnerable to predation, and die slowly from starvation. Protecting forage fish stocks including sand eels from commercial fishing and climate change that alters their distribution are the priority welfare interventions for North Sea seabird populations.

What You Can Do

Support sand eel protection measures in North Sea fisheries management
Advocate for marine protected areas covering seabird foraging areas
Donate to seabird monitoring programmes tracking breeding success
Learn about the connection between fish availability and seabird welfare
Support climate action as a seabird welfare intervention