Fuglavernd, the Icelandic bird charity, is urging Minister for the Environment Svandis Svavarsdottir to make urgent arrangements to protect seabirds as a new study points to a serious and ongoing reduction in the number of seabirds around Iceland.
“In light of the results of the new survey suggesting a huge reduction is taking place in the Icelandic seabird stock, Fuglavernd urges the Minister for the Environment to take urgent action to protect the stock,” the charity’s press release states.
“Iceland is home to some of Europe’s biggest seabird colonies and Icelanders therefore bear a responsibility for their welfare and our conduct toward them is regulated, among other things, by the Berne Convention and the Rio Agreement. Recommended actions include:
1. Minimal regular research into seabird population changes must continue to be carried out
2. Species put on the watch list due to population reduction will be exempt from hunting and egg collection
3. Nesting sites of these species: bird cliffs and other structures, will be protected
4. Springtime hunting of guillemots will be completely banned.
Driving around Iceland I noticed that some former seabirds are no longer …seabirds. They are junk food and trash birds now. And as such their populations are growing much faster then of other species and they push seabirds out.