Marine Conservation Takes Flight
Ornithologist and Program Contact: Caroline Fox
Why Marine Birds?
The highly productive waters and shores of British Columbia’s coast support an incredible diversity and density of marine life. Vast numbers of marine birds use these areas for critical activities such as breeding, foraging, wintering and migration. It is estimated that nearly 6 million individuals from 15 or so seabird species breed locally. The coast is also a portion of the Pacific Flyway, a major corridor for millions of migratory birds traveling to and from breeding grounds in the Arctic and elsewhere in the continent. Long distance migrants that may breed elsewhere in the world, such as albatrosses and shearwaters, are found offshore in significant numbers.
Despite their multitudes, many marine bird species on our coast are of great conservation concern. Some marine bird populations are known or are suspected to be experiencing population declines. Further, major knowledge gaps exist for marine birds at sea, particularly during seasons other than summer and for North and Central coast waters. The relative lack of information about marine birds at sea is a serious conservation concern as threats to marine birds are numerous, often interactive, and growing.
Marine birds that inhabit British Columbia’s coast are threatened by the following:
• chronic and catastrophic oil spills
• oil extraction and development
• food supply change
• fisheries conflict
• contaminants and pollutants
• marine debris
• introduced predators
• wind turbines
• habitat loss/degradation and disturbance
• climate change
Our work: furthering marine bird science and conservation
To address these knowledge gaps, Raincoast initiated extensive at sea marine bird surveys. From 2005 to 2008, we have surveyed thousands of kilometers and amassed nearly 20 000 marine bird sightings with over 100,000 individuals counted. Our survey area includes the waters of Dixon Entrance, Hecate Strait, Queen Charlotte Sound, Queen Charlotte Strait and a number of mainland inlets. So far, over 70 species have been observed, including: Tufted and Horned Puffins, Rhinoceros and Cassin’s Auklets, Yellow-billed and Red-throated Loons, Ancient and Marbled Murrelets, Sandhill Cranes and Laysan and Short-tailed Albatrosses. Our survey research results will be highly relevant, not only to current development and energy discussions, but will also act as a reference for future at sea marine bird comparisons. We look forward to releasing preliminary results in 2009.
