Jersey puffin protection fence goes to planners

A 49ft (15m) section of the fence will be installed temporarily to show how it would look and affect the landscape

A project to create a seabird reserve for Jersey's puffins has submitted a planning application for a trial fence.

Birds On The Edge (BOTE) wants to erect a one-mile (1.6km) predator proof fence at Plemont to protect the birds from rats and ferrets.

A 49ft (15m) section of the fence will be installed temporarily to show how it would look and affect the landscape.

BOTE aims to prevent puffins and other coastal wildlife from becoming extinct in Jersey.

The fence would enclose an area of about 30 hectares, where puffins nest in burrows on the cliffs and slopes.

Puffins are one of Jersey's most iconic and beloved species, but their numbers have declined dramatically in recent years due to habitat loss, climate change and predation.

The reserve would provide a safe haven for them and other seabirds such as razorbills, guillemots and fulmars.

Cris Sellares, project officer of BOTE, said: "There are only eight puffins left in Jersey.

"If we don't do something now, there is a real risk that we will lose the iconic seabird which plays such an important part in Jersey's natural and cultural heritage."

He said the "strategy comes at a price and the proposed fence will have some visual impact upon the coastal landscape".

It was "therefore, imperative that Jersey's community has the opportunity to assess the impact for themselves and decide whether they feel this project should go ahead", he said.

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