Graham Workman: Poor Puffins
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Here we go again!
Sadly more potentially bad news for the Puffin! Not that long ago it seemed that the fishing for sand eels in English waters would significantly help our seabirds, especially the species that rely heavily on sand eels like the Puffin and Kittiwake.
Sand eels are a crucial food source for UK seabirds, including the internationally important puffin colony at Bempton Cliffs, East Yorkshire. The UK government introduced a closure order in March 2024 to protect dwindling sandeel stocks by prohibiting trawlers from netting them in English waters.
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The EU argues the ban is "discriminatory and disproportionate," threatening Denmark’s commercial sandeel fishing industry. Danish fishing groups claim stocks remain healthy and dispute the scientific evidence behind the ban.
Conservationists, including the RSPB, strongly support the measure, warning that reversing it could endanger seabird populations. Bernadette Butfield, RSPB senior marine policy officer, highlighted that 62% of UK seabird species are in decline and that the ban benefits not just puffins but also kittiwakes and other vulnerable species.
Dave O’Hara, senior site manager at RSPB Bempton Cliffs, emphasised the wider ecological and economic importance of sand eels, which sustain marine wildlife and attract thousands of visitors to the Yorkshire coast.
Sand eels are commercially harvested for animal feed and oil production. Danish industry representatives argue the ban has significantly impacted their livelihoods, with Esben Sverdrup-Jensen of the Danish Pelagic Producers' Association stating it has cut traditional fishing grounds by half.
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Hide AdThe case, heard at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, will assess whether the UK’s ban breaches the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). This is the first legal dispute between the UK and the EU since Brexit, with a ruling expected in April.
UK conservationists stress that the verdict could have far-reaching implications for seabird populations along the east coast.
It’s that time of the year when some of our winter migrants will be starting their flights back to their breeding grounds. One of these species I’ve not managed to catch up with this Autumn/Winter is the Brambling! The winter thrushes – Fieldfare and Redwing no problem seen both species locally but the Brambling is another matter!
Bramblings spend the summer in the vast forests of northern Europe and Asia, though pairs occasionally nest further south, including in northern Britain. At the end of the breeding season, they move south in huge flocks, looking for seeds and particularly beech mast to feed on. If there is a shortage of beech mast in southern Scandinavia, or if the snow is too heavy for birds to feed, huge numbers of brambling can move into the UK and central Europe for winter. Sometimes this movement is called ‘A Brambling Winter’. They start to move back north from around March onwards so I’ve still a few weeks to find one or two! Now this is impressive, in January 2019, a mega flock of around five million bramblings was recorded in Slovenia. That must have been some sight!!!