**Abstract:**

The most recent assessment of threats to seabirds at the global level confirmed that Invasive Alien Species (IAS), bycatch and climate change are the main drivers of decline of several species. Most seabirds, especially globally threatened ones, face multiple threats. IAS affects the highest number of species, but bycatch has a greater impact in terms of severity. In this study, we used data collected for the global revision to analyse in detail the threats facing seabirds occurring in Europe and in the EU28 (pre-2018). We found that, at European level, the main perils on land are hunting/trapping, pollution and IAS (affecting 46.8 %, 35.1 % and 33.8 % of species respectively). At sea, the main threats are bycatch (33.8 %), climate change/severe weather and overfishing (both 22.1 %). Marine threats have the greatest average impact on European species, even though they affect a smaller percentage of them compared to the major threats on land. In Europe, seabirds are among the bird families with the higher proportion of threatened and nearly threatened species (34,5% at EU level according to the last EU 2020 Red List assessment), with c. 25% experiencing population declines (especially Podicipedidae and Anatidae families). The study sheds light on the main threats faced by European seabirds during different phases of their annual cycles for both breeding and wintering species, and will contribute to the identification of key species and the measures needed to mitigate their most critical and deadly threats. In addition, this analysis will help guide current and future conservation and policy work in the region to drive effective conservation measures and identify where there is a shared political responsibility with third-party countries. This is particularly important for some highly mobile European species that spend a significant amount of time in the high seas where they encounter threats that have an impact on their survival.

**Authors:**

Antonio Vulcano¹, Maria Peixe Dias¹, Anna Staneva¹, Daniel Mitchell², Claire Rutherford¹

¹BirdLife International, ²Stichting BirdLife Europe

Threats to seabirds in Europe: a regional review

**Abstract:**

Many seabird species travel large distances throughout their annual cycles, occurring in multiple jurisdictions. Many of these species are also threatened or in decline, being exposed to marine threats such as bycatch in fishing gear, overfishing, light pollution and infrastructure development at sea. Therefore, their effective conservation depends often on the concerted conservation effort of several countries. In Europe, seabird species are protected under the Nature's directives, and several important foraging sites for breeding species have been identified (e.g., through the IBA network) and protected (as SPA or other MPA) over the last decade. However, Europe also hosts many highly migratory and mobile species, which spend a considerable amount of their time in non-European waters. Here we analysed the network of marine IBAs for 32 migratory species of seabirds breeding in Europe and quantified the extent to which these areas are under some form of protection. We found that 7% of the marine IBAs identified for migratory European seabird populations are outside Europe, even though some of these species perform long distance movements and spend a large percentage of their annual cycle in African and American waters, or in areas beyond national jurisdiction. Most of these sites are triggered by: Audouin's gull Larus audouinii, Scopoli's shearwater Calonectris diomedea, Cory's shearwater Calonectris borealis, Zino's petrel Pterodroma madeira and Desertas Petrel Pterodroma deserta. The extent to which marine IBAs for migratory European seabirds in waters outside Europe are covered by MPAs is considerably lower (less than 30%, on average), than within European Exclusive Economic Zones (more than 75%). None of the sites identified for the two threatened Pterodroma species outside of Europe is currently under any level of protection. This study highlights the need to identify and protect a relevant network of marine sites that covers the different stages of the annual cycle of migratory seabirds, most of which are impacted by threats occurring at sea, and put more effort on identifying mIBAs also during their non-breeding period. Despite strong EU environmental legislation, the effective management of sites within European jurisdiction is still incomplete and is also insufficient to adequately safeguard migratory seabirds without corresponding protection within the EEZs of third countries and in the high seas where many of the threats are encountered.

**Authors:**

Antonio Vulcano¹, Daniel Mitchell², Maria Peixe Dias¹

¹BirdLife International, ²Stichting Birdlife Europe

Are world marine IBAs/MPAs effectively covering important sites for migratory seabirds? A case study with European breeding species

Poster Session I Atlantic - E: Conservation

poster

Welcome Seabirders!  

Welcome to Virtual World Seabird Conference 3 - vWSC3! Whether you are in your office or lab, at home, in a coffee shop or bar poaching some wifi, or at a remote field site or research vessel – we are very excited to welcome you to the third ever World Seabird Conference. 

We would like to thank ALL of you for being so patient as WSC3 was scheduled, postponed, rescheduled, revised to virtual, and scheduled again. Throughout all those iterations there was one message that remained perfectly clear – seabirders were eager to meet and share their science. If we could not meet in person then virtual it would have to be, but a 3rd WSC was something everyone wanted. That support and commitment helped the WSU Board of Directors and Member Societies sort through all of the challenges they faced to plan and hold this conference. 

The list of those that need to be thanked is long and, while we plan on recognizing many during the live closing plenary, it is important to do so here in writing as well. 

The Australasian Seabird Group was our Local Host for our plan to meet in Hobart, Tasmania. They invested substantial time and effort to find venues and plan events that we unfortunately were not able to visit. Nonetheless we appreciate their work on behalf of WSC3 and encourage all of you to thank them when you see their members in Gathertown or elsewhere during our virtual meeting. Their willingness to host created the initial excitement for WSC3 and without that our vWSC would not have been possible.

We also wish to thank the Science Program Committee, the Virtual Committee, and the Early Career Scientist Committee for their hard work planning the logistics, events, and schedule for vWSC3. These committees also had to deal with changing parameters and short timelines that made what is always a challenging task even more challenging. The Travel Awards Committee also invested time and effort in developing procedures for awarding travel funds that ultimately would not be implemented. 

Our ability to shift from an in-person to a virtual meeting, and to do so in a way that would be financially feasible, was due to the effective efforts of The International Fundraising Committee and to our financial sponsors. The IFC raised funds to support WSC3 and then, through the good relationships they built with sponsors, ensured we could re-envision how those funds could be used to support a virtual conference that would be affordable and high-quality.

We all owe the WSU Board of Directors and the Representatives of the Member Societies a great deal of thanks. They are the ones who manage the WSU and, for the past 18 months, have had to have a series of challenging meetings and conversations, have had to make a series of difficult choices, have had to do all of that while considering the short- and long-term health of WSU and the World Seabird Conferences, and did this while also managing their own challenges at their day jobs. We are grateful for their diligence, patience, foresight, and throughout all of the meetings, their collegiality. Also – a 6-year term is quite a commitment!

There would not be a WSC3 without a successful WSC1 and WSC2. Thanks go to the Pacific Seabird Group for their support of WSC1 in Victoria, Canada, and to the African Seabird Group for their support of WSC2 in Cape Town, South Africa. In each of these endeavors and for our current conference we were fortunate to work with a dependable and trustworthy partner in Podium Conferences. Michelle Smith and Marischal de Armond have become valued members of our team and have not only helped us plan conferences but have assisted and advised the WSU Chairs and Board on issues above and beyond conference planning. 

As we embark on our vWSC3 week we extend to all of you our thanks for showing up, for being patient, and most importantly for the work you do with seabirds. We are all part of a unique, global community that shares an interest, a fascination, and a passion for birds that make a living in our world’s oceans. We have advanced the science, conservation, and management of seabirds as well the ecosystems they inhabit. We are consistently impressed and motivated by the work you do. 

The WSU formed in 2010 because we saw the need for a global organization to address challenges at a global level. Over the past 11 years WSU has grown, adapted, and evolved to become the community that this week is making vWSC3 a reality. Enjoy the week, appreciate and support the friends and colleagues you have made in the community, and if you see us in a virtual hallway please stop and say hello! 

Thank you for the opportunity to serve all of you and the WSU over the past few years,

Nicholas Carlile, Interim Chair, WSU<br>
Patrick Jodice, 2nd Chair of the WSU<br><br>

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3rd World Seabird Conference

Join us for four days of science, networking and virtual engagement with delegates from around the world!

**Session Replay:** [Click here](https://zoom.us/rec/share/I5FTO4Nw8A9EVwIbcU6mFqqi1CKXkMlk07_FuS9HdC-LwacwJ_q8DCyiSggMJ5bd.mZu28rO84G-XhBYU?startTime=1633693787000)<br><br>

<i>**Session Chair: **Peter Ryan</i><br><br> 
<i>**Technical Session Chair: ** Christina Petalas</i><br><br> 


Antonio Vulcano

2

1

SHORT BIO

Presentations

Threats to seabirds in Europe: a regional review

Are world marine IBAs/MPAs effectively covering important sites for migratory seabirds? A case study with European breeding species

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