Wild Puffin Conservation and Marine Food Web Welfare

How climate-driven changes to marine food webs are affecting puffin reproductive welfare in the North Atlantic.

Key Facts

Atlantic puffin populations have declined significantly in some colonies due to sand eel prey depletion
Climate change is warming North Atlantic waters and shifting sand eel distribution to cooler areas outside puffin range
Puffins that cannot find adequate sand eels during breeding raise significantly fewer chicks
Some colonies have experienced near-complete breeding failure during years of acute prey shortage
Puffins mate for life and return to the same burrow — colony disruption has lasting social welfare implications

Welfare Considerations

Puffin reproductive welfare is directly linked to marine food web integrity. As obligate sand eel specialists during breeding, puffins that cannot find adequate prey within commuting range of their colony experience breeding failure — a welfare cost to adults and a mortality event for chicks that starve. Warming ocean temperatures shift sand eel distribution poleward, away from traditional puffin breeding areas. This is not a future prediction but an observed present reality in multiple North Atlantic colonies. Climate action combined with sustainable fishery management of sand eels — currently heavily fished for animal feed — are the most direct interventions for puffin reproductive welfare.

What You Can Do

Support seabird conservation organizations including RSPB and Audubon Society monitoring puffin colonies
Advocate for sustainable sand eel fishing limits that maintain prey for puffins and other seabirds
Take climate action as the most fundamental intervention for marine food web stability
Learn about puffin ecology and share information about how marine warming affects seabird breeding welfare