Seabirds
More than five million seabirds nest on Canada's North Pacific Coast, with more than two million seabirds taking up residence each year on the Scott Islands alone. Seabirds may rarely ever set foot on land except to nest and care for their young.
Understanding seabirds, their diet and habitat are a critical element in planning for the North Pacific Coast.
The birds that live or migrate through this area include the black-footed albatross with its awesome two-and-a-half-metre wingspan, the common murre that dive up to 100 metres deep, and the sooty shearwater that hold the record for the world’s longest migration.
Canada's North Pacific Coast is a vital habitat for seabirds. This area supports:
- 108 marine bird species during all or part of their life cycle;
- 80 per cent of the global breeding population of Cassin’s auklets;
- 56 per cent of the global breeding population of rhinoceros auklets;
- 74 per cent of the global breeding population of ancient murrelets.
Seabirds face a wide variety of threats including changes in sea-surface temperature and availability of food, both of which are made worse by ocean acidification and climate change. Some birds are caught and drowned in fishing gear, and all can be affected by oil spills and other pollution caused by shipping and energy development.
To see maps of where many of these seabirds can be found in B.C. waters, visit the Bird pages of the Marine Atlas of Pacific Canada.
Sources:
Laura McFarlane Tranquilla, Karen Truman, Duncan Johannessen, and Tracey Hooper. (2007) Ecosystem overview: Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Area - Appendix K: Marine Birds.
Joanna Smith and Ken Morgan. (2005) An Assessment of Seabird Bycatch in Longline and Net Fisheries in British Columbia. Canadian Wildlife Service Technical Report Series Number 401.
