The seabird wreck in the Bay of Biscay and South-Western Approaches in 2014: A review of reported mortality

• Main Authors: Morley, Tim I, Fayet, Annette L, Jessop, Helene, Veron, Paul, Veron, Merlin, Clark, Jacquie, Wood, Matthew J
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The Seabird Group 2016
• Subjects: Q Science (General); QL Zoology; Atlantic puffin; fratercula; Fratercula arctica; North Atlantic; North East Atlantic
• Online Access: https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/4410/; https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/4410/1/Morley%20et%20al%202016%20SEABIRD%20vol29%20p22.pdf; http://www.seabirdgroup.org.uk/seabird-29-22

Between December 2013 and February 2014, a series of storm events occurred in areas of the North Atlantic frequented by migratory seabirds. Prolonged exposure to sustained storm conditions was followed by an unprecedented level of seabird mortality, apparently due to starvation, exhaustion and drowning. A total of 54,982 wrecked birds was recorded along European coastlines of the North-East Atlantic over the winter; 94% of which were dead. The majority of birds found were recorded on the French coastline (79.6%), and the most impacted species was the Atlantic Puffin Fratercula arctica (53.5%). In this paper, we describe the conditions surrounding this wreck event and report the numbers of wrecked and stranded seabirds by combining reports from multiple affected countries.