The UK Government must take urgent action to save seabirds after an unprecedented “severe” marine heatwave in our seas, conservationists have warned.
The RSPB called on Tory ministers to throw struggling seabirds a “lifeline” as warming oceans makes it harder for them to find fish to eat.
In a letter to Defra minister Lord Benyon, the charity warned sea temperature rises of a staggering 4-5C above average for this time of year could pile added pressure onto already fragile populations.
The temperature "anomaly" in the North Atlantic including the waters around the British isles has seen a “severe” category four marine heatwave declared.
It comes as Scotland and the UK’s wild bird species have already been ravaged by a massive avian flu epidemic in recent years.
A shocking 24 of the 25 UK breeding seabird species are at risk of local or global extinction and the number of breeding seabirds has fallen by almost a quarter in the last 30 years, including birds like puffins, gannets and kittiwakes.
The RSPB said urgent action was needed to address the “cocktail of threats” facing species, including fast-tracking plans to restore our seas and banning industrial sandeel fishing in the North Sea - a vital food source for seabirds.
Jeff Knott, director of policy and advocacy at the RSPB, said: “These record temperatures aren’t an early warning sign. They are yet another example of climate change on our doorstep, disrupting ecosystems in sudden and unexpected ways.
“If we are to give our seabirds a fighting chance we must act quickly to build resilience in their populations and improve the health of our seas.
“Restoring our special seabird islands, cutting accidental deaths caused by longline and gillnet fishing and pushing ahead with bans on industrial sandeel fishing across the UK are all measures that can and should be taken now.
“Bird flu has had a devastating impact on our seabirds over the last two years but they have also faced decades of increasing human-induced pressures. It’s time to throw them a lifeline.”
It comes as, on land, Scotland and the UK had its hottest June on record last month.
The UN yesterday officially declared the naturally-occuring “El Nino” weather pattern has begun which is expected to supercharge man-made global warming.
The World Meteorological Organisation said this made it even more likely that global temperature records will be smashed in the coming months triggering more extreme heat for billions of people.
The current record for the world’s hottest year on record is 2016, during the last El Nino event.
A study between 2015 and 2016 found warming of just 1-2C off the west coast of the US left seabirds starving, resulting in the death of one million common Guillemots.
Warming seas and extreme weather events impact the whole marine food chain – from tiny creatures like plankton upwards, with knock-on consequences for the species that depend on them for food.
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