Gannet Welfare at UK Seabird Colonies

Gannets breed in spectacular cliff colonies around the UK. Their welfare depends on sandeel prey availability, colony disturbance management, and plastic entanglement prevention.

Key Facts

UK gannet colonies including Bass Rock and Bempton hold over 200,000 breeding pairs
Sandeels and other small fish are essential prey, declining with climate-driven distribution shifts
Plastic entanglement in fishing line and netting causes injury and death at colonies
Gannets can dive at 100 km/h, making boat strike a mortality risk in some areas
Avian influenza outbreaks in 2021-2022 killed thousands of gannets at UK colonies

Welfare Considerations

Gannet welfare at colonies is threatened by multiple interacting factors. Food availability from sandeel stocks is the primary nutritional welfare driver. Plastic entanglement in colony nesting material causes wing deformation, strangulation, and death in adults and chicks. HPAI outbreaks caused dramatic mortality events that welfare and conservation bodies were unable to prevent at population scale. Cleaning up plastic in colony nest material is a direct welfare intervention that colony managers and visiting volunteers can contribute to.

What You Can Do

Participate in colony clean-up volunteer events removing entangling material
Support Marine Conservation Society campaigns against plastic pollution near seabird colonies
Donate to RSPB seabird monitoring at gannet colonies
Advocate for sandeel fishing restrictions to protect prey for gannet and other seabird species