Cape Town, 9 March 2012. The status of the world’s seabirds has deteriorated rapidly over recent decades and several species and many populations are now perilously close to extinction. These are the findings of a major new review published this week in the scientific journal Bird Conservation International.

The review—based on BirdLife International’s data and assessment for the IUCN Red List—reveals that seabirds are now more threatened than any other group of birds. Of the 346 seabird species, 97 (28%) are globally threatened and a further 10% are close to being so. Nearly half of all seabird species are known or suspected to be experiencing population decreases. The albatross family is especially imperiled with 17 of the 22 species currently threatened with extinction.

“Seabirds are a diverse group of worldwide distribution and as top predators they also provide a valuable indicator of wider marine health”, said Professor John Croxall, Chair of BirdLife’s Global Seabird Programme, and the paper’s lead author.

Human activities lie behind these decreases. At sea, commercial fisheries have degraded fish stocks and caused the deaths of innumerable seabirds through accidental bycatch, whilst on land the introduction of invasive species has extirpated many breeding colonies.

There may still be time to reverse these declines and the review is clear on the actions that need to be taken. The sites where seabird congregate—both onshore breeding colonies and offshore feeding grounds must be protected. BirdLife has already identified many Important Bird Areas (IBAs) for seabirds on land and is about to publish the first inventory of marine IBAs in the high seas. It is hoped that these will help develop a global network of Marine Protected Areas and assist the implementation of new approaches to the management and protection of marine systems.

Invasive species, especially introduced rodents, must be removed from major seabird colonies. Several successful restoration projects have already taken place. For example, South Africa successfully removed cats from Marion Island which, at 294 km2, remains the largest island globally that has been successfully cleared of cats. The paper details priority sites for new eradication efforts.

Closer to home, of the 11 albatross species that regularly occur in South Africa, 10 are threatened with extinction, including the Critically Endangered Tristan Albatross, which breeds only at the remote Gough Island in the South Atlantic. However, South Africa continues to lead global efforts to reduce seabird bycatch in fisheries. Dr Ross Wanless, Seabird Division Manager at BirdLife South Africa, noted “the hake trawl fishery and tuna and swordfish longliners have worked with BirdLife South Africa’s Albatross Task Force for 6 years. Over this time they have tested and refined measures and technologies to prevent seabird deaths. As a result, national bycatch rates are greatly reduced. The tuna longliners, for example, have reduced seabird deaths by around 80% since 2006”.