The common scoter is a diving duck wintering in large rafts at sea around the UK coast, with welfare threats from offshore wind development, oil pollution, and prey depletion in key wintering bays.
Common scoter welfare in UK coastal waters is affected by displacement from preferred feeding grounds during offshore construction, reduction in bivalve prey from dredging and pollution, and direct mortality from oil spills. The species is highly dependent on high-density bivalve beds in specific shallow bay habitats, making displacement particularly harmful to individual condition. Careful siting of offshore infrastructure to avoid key scoter wintering concentrations and robust oil spill response capacity are the primary welfare protection measures.