Puffin Welfare: Sea Temperature and Sand Lance Decline in Scotland (2026)

Atlantic puffins face catastrophic breeding failure in years when warming seas drive sand lance (sand eel) prey into deeper, cooler water — leaving chicks starving despite parental presence.

Key Facts

Atlantic puffin populations at Shetland, Fair Isle, and Orkney have declined by over 30% in recent decades
Sand lance are the primary prey for puffin chicks — nutritionally critical fatty fish that concentrate in cold surface water
Sea surface temperature increases push sand lance to deeper water beyond puffin diving range in warm years
The IUCN classifies Atlantic puffins as Vulnerable globally, with North Sea populations particularly affected

Welfare Considerations

Puffin chicks that cannot be provisioned with sand lance waste away over days before death from starvation — parents attend the burrow but return with unsuitable prey or empty-beaked as sand lance cannot be caught. Adults exhaust themselves in extended diving attempts, reducing their own body condition during a critical pre-migration period. Chicks that fledge underweight from poor provisioning years show dramatically reduced first-year survival. Climate-driven prey mismatch is not a sudden catastrophe but a slow welfare failure playing out annually across colonies.

What You Can Do

Support RSPB puffin colony monitoring at Shetland, Handa, and Isle of May
Donate to Marine Conservation Society advocacy for sand lance fishery protection around puffin colonies
Advocate for climate action to slow sea temperature warming affecting North Sea prey fish distribution
Participate in Seabird Monitoring Programme counts to contribute puffin population data