Every dead bird analysed by RSPB contained a ‘lunchbox full of plastic’

by Calum Ross

 June 11, 2018, 6:42 am

The study has caused some concern.

Two tonnes of plastic have been found in the stomachs of fulmar birds around the North Sea.

Helen Moncrieff, Shetland manager at RSPB Scotland, said every single dead bird they analysed as part of a study contained a “lunchbox full of plastic”.

She was speaking ahead of a summit in Oban next week on tackling marine litter, which will be hosted by Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham.

Scotland is home to a third of the European Union’s breeding seabirds, with the islands having traditionally hosted huge colonies.

However, concerns about the impact of plastic pollution are growing, and climate change has been blamed for a catastrophic collapse in seabird numbers.

Speaking at a fringe event at the SNP conference in Aberdeen, Ms Momcrieff said: “The mallies (fulmars), there is a long-term study going on in the north Atlantic and the North Sea particularly, with a whole lot of countries involved.

“Every month we go out and we check, do a beach bird survey, and any fulmar or mallie we find intact we take it, stick it in the freezer and then the stomach contents are analysed later on.

“What we find is there’s plastic in every single mallie’s belly.

“It’s like having a lunchbox full of plastic in your stomach. We calculated that there’s around two tonnes of plastic in fulmar bellies alone.”

Continued 

Why seabirds remain the most mysterious creatures of all

7 MAY 2018

The avian magicians spend months at sea, never touching land and taking only a moment’s rest now and then.

BY JOHN BURNSIDE

Around now, on the low cliffs between St Andrews Castle and the town harbour, a colony of fulmars settles in for the breeding season, just two minutes’ walk from my office. It is always a lift to the spirits when these birds arrive and begin sweeping clean the precarious, narrow rock ledges where the eggs will be laid.

As the days lengthen and the wind off the firth goes from chilly to cool, I like to stand on the path above the rock face and watch as they glide back and forth, my pleasure intensified by the knowledge that, once the chicks are grown enough to leave, I will not see them again till next spring. I know this from experience, having lived through 20 years of their coming and going: gradually, the colony builds to its peak numbers, then, a little less gradually, the birds glide away, to spend the rest of the year at sea, far from this narrow peninsula.

Continued  

Fulmars contaminated more by food than microplastics

Date:February 17, 2016

Source:Norwegian Institute for Nature Research

Contrary to previous belief, new research has shown that microplastics are not a significant source of environmental pollutants in fulmars. Seabirds ingest most of these pollutants through food, the researchers concluded.

Millions of tons of plastic float around in the world's oceans, most of it as microplastics. Waves, wind and weather wear down the waste material until it is reduced to microscopic particles that remain in the sea for a long time. Littering of the world's oceans is a major environmental problem, as it is in Norway too.

It is not unusual for the microplastics to end up in the stomach of marine organisms, where it can do great harm. An additional cause of concern is the environmental pollutants linked to plastic. Even though not all plastics contain hazardous substances, plastic has the ability to bind fat-soluble organic pollutants from the environment to itself. Thus, it reflects the concentration of environmental pollutants in the sea.

Continued ...