Jersey hosts endangered seabird workshop

The Balearic shearwater is categorised as "critically endangered" globally

A workshop for the conservation of the most endangered seabird in Europe is being hosted in Jersey.

The Balearic shearwater breeds mainly in its namesake Spanish archipelago but in the summer large flocks travel to the Channel Islands.

With an estimated total population of 25,000, the bird is catalogued as critically endangered at global level.

The workshop is set to bring experts from France and the Channel Islands together for the first time.

'Exciting partnership'

The workshop aims to gather data across various organisations in order to understand the importance of the Channel Islands for this species.

It will also produce management recommendations and start a collaborative project enabling all organisations in the region to coordinate monitoring and conservations efforts.

The workshop will bring together seabird experts from Normandie and Brittany.

Experts from the Natural Environment Teams in Guernsey and Jersey, the Alderney Wildlife Trust, the Alderney Bird Observatory, the Channel Islands Bird Ringing Scheme, the Societe Jersiaise, Durrell and the National Trust for Jersey will also be involved.

Cris Sellarés, from the Birds On The Edge partnership, said: "This is an exciting new partnership that will set the basis for future collaborations between the Islands and France.

"We need to look beyond what biodiversity we have on our individual Islands and treat the sea as another key component of our shared natural heritage."

Ms Sellarés said visiting birds like the Balearic shearwater showed what potential the Islands might hold for new species.

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