Seabird Monitoring undertaken during the Western European Shelf Pelagic Acoustic Survey (WESPAS) 2021

Under the EU Birds Directive, there is a requirement on member states to conduct surveillance of seabirds occurring within their waters. A standard line transect survey methodology was employed by the seabird observer with additional visual point sampling at fishing locations and oceanographic sampling stations. Survey transects were undertaken at speeds of 5-10 knots, with fishing activity being conducted at speeds of 2-3 knots. The seabird observer’s survey effort was maximized and optimized during periods of sea state less than or equal to sea state 6 and with visibility of greater than 300m. A total of 7210 seabird observations were recorded throughout the survey, totalling 32229 individuals. In total, 12391 seabirds were recorded as “in transect”, while 19838 were recorded “off transect”. The species encountered included 26 species from eight families. A further 21 observations of terrestrial/migratory birds were also recorded, comprising of 79 individuals.