Report from the seabird monitoring in Norway in 2023

The annual SEAPOP report from the key-site monitoring in 2023 presents the status of key seabird species breeding in Norway. The results are based on the monitoring work in all SEAPOP key sites on the coast of Norway, as well as Svalbard and Jan Mayen, in the summer of 2023.

Higher breeding success for divers than surface feeders

As in 2022, breeding success was highly variable between species and key-sites, but surface-feeding species such as black-legged kittiwakes, northern fulmars, larger gulls and great skuas generally had a worse breeding season than diving species such as Atlantic puffins, little auks and common guillemots. Overall, breeding success for pelagic diving species was relatively good throughout Norway. Coastal diving species fared moderately well, except in the North Sea, where they did slightly better. Surface-feeders, both pelagic and coastal, had poor breeding success in the north (Svalbard, Jan Mayen, and northern mainland Norway), and moderate in the Norwegian Sea and further south. These differences are detailed in the newly published SEAPOP Short Report “Key-site monitoring in Norway 2023, including Svalbard and Jan Mayen”.

More than half of the populations declined since 2022

More than half of the monitored seabird populations declined between 2022 and 2023, with a mixed picture in the north, strong declines for most species groups in the Norwegian Sea and more moderate trends in the North Sea. The ten-year trends for all species groups at the national scale are negative, while at the regional level, declines seem to be more pronounced in the north and in the Norwegian Sea. The impact of the 2022 outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) was visible in the marked declines of many (but not all) populations of great skuas and northern gannets.

Read the article:

• Key-site monitoring in Norway 2023, including Svalbard and Jan Mayen