A study on the Cory’s shearwater will help protecting new marine areas in international waters

Date:  January 31, 2018

Source:  Universidad de Barcelona

Summary:

The adult specimens of Cory’s shearwater (Calonectris diomedea) in the Canary Islands travel more than 800 kilometers for days searching for food. In Mediterranean colonies, these marine birds do not fly further than 300 kilometers from their colonies. A study on these movements provides now, for the first time, a detailed information on the movements of the Spanish populations of the shearwaters from the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea over the year.

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Alarming amounts of plastic found in Mediterranean seabirds

A new study has discovered that 94 per cent of Cory’s shearwaters on the Catalan coast have ingested plastic. In the case of Yelkouan and Balearic shearwaters, the conclusion is that 70 per cent of studied birds were similarly affected. Jacob González Solís from the Department of Animal Biology and the Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio) of the University of Barcelona (UB), headed a research group that carried out the study, published in the Marine Pollution Bulletin. 

Plastic pollution is known to be a threat for marine ecosystems around the world, but it has not yet been extensively studied. Solís explained that, “this is the first assessment of plastic ingestion in Mediterranean seabirds. The Mediterranean Sea has been recognised as a singularly sensitive ecosystem because its coast is very industrialised, shipping activity is intense and it contains high density floating plastic areas.”

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More flamingos, Honey buzzard, swallows, shearwater & gull all targeted by Maltese hunters

Second flock of flamingos gunned down as poachers take to the sea

October 2012. For the second time in less than a week illegal hunters have shot at and killed at least two Greater Flamingos flying off the coast of Malta, this time hunting the protected birds at sea, while BirdLife Malta received three more shot protected birds recovered at sea over the weekend.

Hunters on a speedboat
On Sunday afternoon a flock of at least 60 flamingos was spotted flying low off the coast opposite Maghtab. Within a minute, hunters on a speedboat within one kilometre of the coast were seen shooting at the flock, killing two birds, which fell into the sea and were collected by the men on the boat.

Hunting at sea is permitted for 13 species of duck and goose between 1st October and 31st January. The birds that are protected on land are also protected at sea and it is illegal to hunt within 3 kilometres of the shore.

Honey Buzzard, a Yellow-legged Gull and a Cory's Shearwater all shot
BirdLife Malta received three more shot protected birds on Saturday, a Honey Buzzard, a Yellow-legged Gull and a Cory's Shearwater, all recovered at sea. The Cory's Shearwater, which was found with broken wings and injuries to its beak, was amongst another three shot dead at sea in the same area. Fishermen on a boat had earlier spotted three hunters shooting at any birds that flew overhead.

Injured flamingos have died
When the first flamingos were shot at Qawra the Maltese environmental police (ALE) had confirmed that they didn't even have a boat out patrolling and weren't able to help with retrieving the injured birds from the sea. BirdLife learned that both the injured juvenile flamingos rescued last week and sent to the government veterinary services have since died of their gunshot injuries.

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/malta-holiday.html