Wild Gannet Welfare and Climate-Driven Food Shifts

Northern gannets are one of Britain's most spectacular seabirds. Their welfare is affected by climate-driven shifts in prey fish availability and emerging threats from HPAI.

Key Facts

The UK holds approximately 60% of the world's northern gannet population
Bass Rock in Scotland supports the world's largest single gannet colony with over 75,000 pairs
Gannets dive from heights of 30 metres at 100 km/h to catch sand eels, herring and mackerel
Climate change is shifting sand eel distribution north, affecting gannets breeding in southern colonies
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI H5N1) caused mass mortality in gannet colonies in 2022
Plastic ingestion and entanglement affects breeding birds at nesting colonies
Gannets are long-lived (up to 37 years) with low reproductive rates - resilience to mortality is limited

Welfare Considerations

Gannet welfare has multiple linked dimensions. The HPAI outbreak of 2022 caused unprecedented mass mortality in gannet colonies - tens of thousands of birds died from acute respiratory and neurological disease, a welfare catastrophe visible from the cliffs. Climate-driven sand eel shifts cause breeding failure when parents cannot find sufficient prey close enough to the colony to feed chicks adequately. Entanglement in plastic fishing line at nest sites causes slow, painful deaths for adults and chicks. The combination of these threats on a species with a 37-year lifespan and single-chick annual breeding puts long-term welfare at considerable risk.

What You Can Do

Support RSPB and JNCC seabird monitoring and HPAI response programmes
Report unusual seabird mortality events to APHA immediately
Advocate for sand eel fishery management that protects the prey base for seabirds
Choose sustainably sourced seafood to protect fish populations that gannets depend on
Take climate action - the primary driver of sand eel distribution shifts affecting gannet welfare