Marine Wildlife

Common Murre Welfare and Heatwave Die-offs in the Pacific

Common murres (guillemots) experienced catastrophic mortality events during the 2015-2016 North Pacific marine heatwave, with hundreds of thousands of emaciated birds washing ashore on Alaska and Pacific coast beaches.

Key Facts

Common murres are the most abundant seabird in the North Pacific
The 2015-2016 marine heatwave caused prey fish to dive deeper and become inaccessible
An estimated 1 million common murres died in the Pacific heatwave die-off
Emaciated birds washed ashore from Alaska to California in an unprecedented mass mortality
The species feeds on small forage fish including sandlance, capelin, and herring

Welfare Considerations

Starvation from prey inaccessibility causes prolonged suffering. Emaciated murres that make landfall are often too weak to stand and die slowly from exhaustion and dehydration. Marine heatwaves are increasing in frequency and intensity with climate change, making recurrent large-scale starvation events a growing welfare concern for this and other forage-fish-dependent seabirds.

What You Can Do

Support climate action to reduce ocean warming and marine heatwave frequency
Donate to Alaska SeaLife Center and Pacific seabird rescue programs
Advocate for forage fish protection measures in Pacific fisheries management
Support BeachCombers programs that track seabird mortality as early warning systems
Reduce personal carbon footprint to limit ocean temperature rise