Seabird Welfare: Plastic, Fishing, and Climate

Seabirds face multiple human-caused welfare threats including plastic ingestion, bycatch in fisheries, and climate-driven prey shifts that cause prolonged chick starvation.

Key Facts

Over 90% of seabirds globally have ingested plastic
Puffin populations have declined by 30% in the past 25 years partly due to climate-driven prey shifts
Gannets caught in fishing gear drown; healthy adults caught accidentally can survive if gear is removed quickly
Plastic fragments fed to chicks by parents believing them to be food cause chick starvation
RSPB Project Puffin and Seabird Recovery projects address multiple threats simultaneously

Welfare Considerations

Seabirds face welfare threats that accumulate throughout their lives. Plastic ingestion causes progressive gut impaction, false satiety, and reduced reproduction due to malnourishment. Chicks fed plastic by parents attempting to provision them starve to death alongside adequate fish. Bycatch drowning is rapid if not rescued. Climate-driven prey shifts cause prolonged chick starvation as parents travel further for food with declining success rates. The combination of threats across long-lived species creates compound welfare impacts.

What You Can Do

Reduce plastic consumption, especially items that commonly reach the ocean
Support RSPB seabird monitoring and conservation programmes
Choose seafood certified to schemes with seabird bycatch mitigation
Advocate for climate action as a fundamental requirement for seabird welfare
Follow annual seabird breeding success reports as an indicator of ecosystem health