BirdLife has been a key stakeholder in the Convention on Biological Diversity-led process to describe Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs). We have compiled seabird tracking data and provided information on relevant marine IBAs, to guide the description of EBSAs at the Regional Workshops. Seabirds are the best studied pelagic taxa, and can provide critical information for many oceanic areas where few or no other data exist. Marine IBAs have been an important source of data for the EBSA process, and several EBSAs have been described solely on seabird data.
EBSAs are marine sites described based on a set of ecological and biological criteria. EBSAs are intended to contribute to marine conservation by describing areas of particular significance that are valued by stakeholders. Describing a site as an EBSA does not result in any management measures or restriction of activities – it is simply recognition of an area’s biological or ecological significance. For EBSAs located within national jurisdiction, it is up to the country to decide on any measures. For EBSAs in the high seas, it is hoped that they can guide future biodiversity conservation and management actions, particularly upon the adoption of the high seas treaty. They are described through a Regional, expert workshop, and must meet one or more of the seven scientific criteria.
There have been 15 regional workshops to date, with more than 600marine IBAs included in the 321EBSAs now recognised.
Explore some of the different seabird related EBSAs in the map below!
Sicilian Channel
Pre-estuarine Area of the Volga River
Murman Coast and Varanger Fjord (ARC_3_EBSA)
Focal Foraging Areas For Hawaiian Albatrosses During Egg-Laying And Incubation
Northern New Zealand/South Fiji Basin
Grey Petrel Feeding Area in the South-East Pacific Rise
Eastern Caribbean
Seabird Foraging Zone in the Southern Labrador Sea
The area is a key feeding area for at least 30% of the global population of Scopoli’s Shearwater, 10% of the global population of the Vulnerable Yelkouan Shearwater, and the endemic Mediterranean subspecies of European Storm-petrel. Yelkouan Shearwater is a Procellariiform endemic to the Mediterranean Basin, listed as Vulnerable by IUCN and included on Annexes of the EU Birds Directive and the Barcelona Convention. Yelkouan Shearwater are particularly susceptible to by-catch in fisheries.
Conservation work: BirdLife Malta have been working to protect the Yelkouan Shearwater since 2006. In 2016, Malta designated eight marine Special Protected Areas, protecting their seabirds on land and at sea. International collaboration is crucial for mobile species such as the Yelkouan Shearwater, and BirdLife Malta is planning its fourth seabird project (PanPuffinus) in collaboration with other Birdlife partners from France, Greece, Portugal and Spain to tackle the main threats to this iconic seabird. See a summary of previous work here.
The area is part of the largest delta in Europe, the Volga Delta and qualifies as an IBA. Immense numbers of waterbirds breed in the delta, including herons, cormorants, Glossy Ibis, and Eurasian Spoonbill, although the number has decreased in recent years. During migration, a total of 7 million waterbirds pass through the area in spring, and 5-10 million in the autumn. The number of waterfowl overwintering in the delta depends on the severity of the weather but can include important numbers of Whooper Swan. Some globally threatened species occur in the area, such as the Dalmatian Pelican and the Common Pochard.
This coastal area in the Barents Sea is an area of high primary productivity. The coast contains a large number of seabird colonies (>50,000 breeding pairs of various species). The large diversity of avifauna is due to the overlap of distribution ranges of eastern and western species. The coast of the Kola peninsula is a wintering area for many seabirds from the eastern part of the Barents Sea, including the Steller’s Eider, Long-tailed Duck and Velvet Scoter, all listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN.
North Pacific - Focal Foraging Areas For Hawaiian Albatrosses During Egg-Laying And Incubation
90% of the global populations of both Vulnerable Black-footed Albatross and Near-threatened Laysan Albatross breed at the Northwest Hawaiian Islands. Although they range widely during much of the annual breeding cycle, satellite tracking has shown that adult birds from both populations concentrate foraging efforts in this area of frontal habitats close to the breeding colony during the egg-laying and incubation phases (November to February). Within this area, the two species segregate by sea surface temperature. Black-footed Albatrosses forage within a more restricted band south of the subarctic front, while Laysan Albatross forage in the colder waters of the subarctic front to the north.
Western South Pacific - Northern New Zealand/South Fiji Basin
This area north of New Zealand and west of the Kermadec Islands is a core foraging area for the Vulnerable Parkinson’s petrel during the breeding season (Oct-June). Seabird tracking data show that >40% of the global population of this species this use the site during November-May. A number of other seabird species also use the site, including the Antipodean Albatross, Cook’s Petrel, White-chinned Petrel, Pycroft’s Petrel, and Sooty Shearwater.
Conservation work: The Albatross Task Force is working with the New Zealand surface longline fishery to implement the innovative Hookpod – a mitigation measure proven to virtually eliminate the bycatch of albatrosses without affecting the catch rate of target species.
Eastern Tropical and Temperate Pacific - Grey Petrel Feeding Area in the South-East Pacific Rise / Área de Alimentación del Petrel Gris en la Sur del Dorsal del Pacífico Este
The Grey Petrel Feeding Area in the South-East Pacific Rise is the only known feeding congregation during the non-breeding season of Grey Petrel (NT) breeding at the Antipodes Island, New Zealand. Birds migrate from their breeding colonies to this area in November to February. The area is estimated to be used by up to 80% of the Antipodes population (~80,000 individuals), and qualifies as an IBA.
The Eastern Caribbean consists of an arc of approximately 15 small islands separating the Caribbean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean and lying just north of the continental shelf off the northeast coast of South America. 52 IBAs are included within the area, including 36 sites supporting globally important bird populations. Overall, they are home to over half a million individuals of 16 species of seabirds. Dog Island (Anguilla) holds a colony of more than 100,000 breeding pairs of Sooty Terns; six sites meet the Ramsar criteria for presence of >20,000 waterbirds, nine sites hold >10,000 individuals, and 23 sites hold >1,000 individuals. The EBSA incorporates the majority of key marine feeding grounds for seabird species breeding at these IBAs.
This area represents an intersection of important foraging and wintering habitat for three seabird species from 20 breeding colonies in the North-East and North-West Atlantic. It provides critical wintering habitat for Black-legged Kittiwakes (representing roughly 25% of the biogeographic population), where a high degree of population mixing and overlap occur. It is also an important wintering site for eastern Canadian populations of Thick-billed Murre (representing ~35% of the eastern Canadian population) and is used by Leach’s Storm-petrels from the world’s largest colony while foraging during the incubation period (Fredericksen et al. 2012).
This area forms a unique ecosystem in the north-eastern part of the Baltic Sea, with high benthic productivity due to frontal conditions and freshwater runoff combining to make a very important feeding area for large numbers of migrating species. As an important breeding and resting area for large numbers of waterbirds (up to 500,000 individuals) and soaring birds (up to 130,000 individuals), and area qualifies as a global IBA. It is particularly important for a number of species classified as Vulnerable on the European IUCN Red List and HELCOM Red List, including the Velvet Scoter (10,000 individuals), Common Pochard (40,000 individuals), Lesser White-fronted Goose, Tufted Duck, and Greater Scaup (up to 50,000 individuals).
Conservation work: BirdLife Partners RSPB and EOS have been working on a new device to reduce bycatch in gillnets called the looming-eyes buoy. Since February 2020, trials have been conducted in Küdema Bay protected area, off the Estonian island of Saaremaa. So far, the preliminary results seem promising. If successful, the looming-eye buoy could help reduce bycatch in gillnet fisheries worldwide. Read more here.
South-Eastern Atlantic - Benguela Upwelling System
Cory's Shearwater in Namibia @ John Paterson
This area is globally unique, being the only cold-water upwelling system to be bounded in the north and south by warm-water current systems. There are six confirmed coastal IBAs in the area (excluding Angola) - four in Namibia and two in South Africa - and a further 12 marine or coastal proposed IBAs (6 in Namibia and 6 in South Africa). The area includes important breeding and foraging areas for locally endemic breeding seabird species, such as the African Penguin, Cape Gannet, Bank Cormorant, the Cape Cormorant, various tern and gull species, as well as important foraging areas for several non-breeding visitors to the area, including Black-browed Albatrosses, Atlantic and Indian Yellow-nosed Albatrosses, Cory’s Shearwater and White-chinned Petrels. In South Africa the system encompasses a key foraging area for populations of Southern Right Whales and Humpback Whales.
Conservation work: The Albatross Task Force is working alongside the Namibian Nature Foundation to monitor numbers of birds being killed in fisheries and to test bycatch mitigation methods. From ‘the world’s worst fishery for bycatch’ to a success story – 100% of vessels have adopted bird scaring lines after the introduction of new regulations, and Namibia has almost 100% fisheries observer coverage on its vessels. Read more about this work here.
This wide region of the central Indian Ocean is the major foraging area for at least four migratory seabird species during their non-breeding season. The site is used by the Endangered Barau’s Petrel from Reunion Island, two populations of Red-tailed Tropicbird (from Nosy Ve in Madagascar and from Europa Island), four populations of Wedge-tailed Shearwater (from D’Arros, Cousin and Aride in Seychelles and from Reunion Island), and White-tailed Tropicbird from Cousin Island in Seychelles. It is also used to a lesser degree as a migration stop off point for Lesser Frigatebird travelling between breeding sites in the Western Indian Ocean and non-breeding areas in South-East Asia.
This area is a key feeding area for the Trindade Petrel (Pterodroma arminjoniana), which in the Indian Ocean breeds on one single island, Round Island, off the north coast of Mauritius. The species is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and an extensive, multi-year tracking dataset shows that birds travel into the Arabian Basin during migration (May-July) and following fledging (year-round) to forage. A range of other marine megafauna may also occur here, including three species of turtle, five species of baleen whale, three species of toothed whale, and >12 species of dolphin.
No EBSAs were triggered solely by seabirds in this Region. But within the Maldives there is a confirmed IBA for the Lesser Noddy. The North-East Indian Ocean forms the southern part of the Central Asian Flyway – one of eight major Flyways of migratory birds. Find out more about this Flyway here.
This is the area where the cold Oyashio Current and the warm Kuroshio Current mix, resulting in complex oceanographic features and high primary production. Consequently, this is an important feeding area for seabirds and mammals. This area is one of largest fishing grounds in the world (FAO, 2014). Species found in the area include the Sooty Shearwater, Streaked Shearwater, and Short-tailed Albatross.
