Atlantic Puffin Conservation Challenges

Atlantic puffins face multiple converging threats from climate change affecting their prey fish, predation, and plastic pollution that threaten colonies worldwide.

Key Facts

Atlantic puffin populations have declined sharply in parts of their range
Puffins feed primarily on sand eels, which are declining with ocean warming
Puffins nest in large colonies on coastal cliffs and burrow in soil
Plastic ingestion has been documented in puffin chicks from contaminated food deliveries
Introduced rats and mink devastate island colonies when they establish
Puffins are monogamous and return to the same burrow annually for decades

Welfare Considerations

Puffin chicks that receive plastic instead of fish experience starvation as their digestive system is blocked by indigestible material. Adults that feed plastic to chicks suffer the distress of watching offspring fail to thrive while their provisioning instinct continues unabated. Climate-driven prey failures mean adult birds make increasingly long foraging trips, becoming exhausted before finding adequate food. Colony collapse leaves individual birds with disrupted social bonds and reduced breeding success.

What You Can Do

Reduce single-use plastic consumption to lower marine plastic burden
Support ocean plastic cleanup organizations
Donate to seabird colony management programs that remove introduced predators
Participate in coastal litter picks
Advocate for sand eel fishing restrictions in puffin feeding areas
Choose sustainable seafood certified to minimize forage fish depletion