These 5 British seabirds are now at risk of extinction

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🗞️ Driving the news: Common gulls, along with the Arctic tern, Leach’s storm-petrel, great black-backed gull, and great skua, have been added to the UK’s red list of threatened species
• This update indicates that nearly a third of bird species in Britain are now at risk of local extinction, highlighting significant concerns about the health of the UK’s marine environment
• Factors contributing to the decline include climate change, overfishing, and disease

🔭 The context: The red list is part of a conservation traffic light system used by organizations like the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and UK Birds of Conservation Concern (BoCC) to categorize the risk of extinction for various species
• The recent additions reflect how warming oceans, changing weather patterns, and commercial fishing practices are endangering seabird populations
• Bird flu outbreaks have further exacerbated these threats, particularly affecting species like the great skua

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: The inclusion of these seabird species on the red list is a stark reminder of the broader environmental challenges facing marine ecosystems
• Healthy seabird populations are crucial for maintaining ecological balance and biodiversity
• Their decline underscores the urgent need for comprehensive conservation efforts, including stronger marine protection and sustainable fishing practices

⏭️ What's next: Conservationists recommend expanding marine protected areas and implementing stricter regulations on fishing methods that harm seabirds
• The next assessment of threatened species in the UK is scheduled for 2027, offering a timeframe for measuring the impact of current conservation strategies

💬 One quote: “The worsening status of some of the UK’s breeding seabirds highlights how our marine environment is struggling to withstand the demands we are making of it and the increasing impacts of climate change,” stated Dr. Gemma Harper, Chief Executive of the UK’s Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)

📈 One stat: Eighteen out of the UK’s 26 regularly occurring breeding seabird species are now threatened with extinction, illustrating the severe state of seabird populations

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