In a bid to secure the future of puffins on the desolate Saltee Islands off the coast of County Wexford, a fresh special protection area (SPA) for sea avians might prove to be instrumental, as per the subject matter experts. It is postulated that after a sustained period of reduction, the quantity of puffins making nests on these islands, situated five kilometres from the coast of Ireland, is experiencing a resurgence.
The puffin breeding period generally commences either in the last part of March or the early phase of April and concludes between July and August. A spokesperson for the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) informed that the most recent countrywide seabird breeding census performed between 2015 and 2021 gauged the puffin breeding pairs in Ireland at 14,232. This figure signifies a 26% reduction from the previous census carried out from 1998 to 2002.
Earlier in the year, there were several puffin counts conducted at the Saltee Islands which suggest an upward trend in the breeding population. This follows a noticeable dip around the start of this century. Despite the encouraging upswing in population, puffins face issues in their nesting environment, according to the NPWS representative.
Puffins usually nest within groups, specifically at places like the Great Saltee Island, where majority of their nests are located within old burrows. The NPWS has resolved earlier instances of predation via a rat extermination scheme, but a new issue for the puffins is the increase in visitor numbers to the island, leading to heightened recreational pressure.
The burrow-nesting nature of puffins, being beneath the surface, creates a challenge in accurately gauging their population, unlike other seabirds whose nests are on openly visible ledges.
Earlier this year, Heritage Minister Malcolm Noonan proclaimed that the freshly identified Seas off Wexford SPA would be assigned under the EU Birds Directive.
The newly established Special Protection Area (SPA) encompasses over 305,000 hectares of oceanic territory and will offer safeguard to an array of avian species encompassing 20 in total, puffins being one of them. Dr Mark Jessopp, a senior instructor of zoology at University College in Cork, has expressed his encouragement regarding the formation of this new SPA.
Dr Jessopp highlighted that this designation ensures that adequate steps will be taken into account to protect the fragile bird populations in this territory, especially puffins, from any impending enhancements. He further iterated that the establishment of this area requires routine surveys to ensure that the species are achieving and maintaining a favourable conservation position.
However, he also highlighted the SPA’s main constraint, that it does not impose much bounds on fishing activities. Puffins on the islands are mainly threatened through on-land predation and disturbances. A rat eradication operation on Great Saltee has been particularly successful, leading to signs of puffin recovery which had previously suffered due to predation from rats present on the Saltees.
Professor John Quinn, a member of the School of Biological Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University College of Cork, recognises positive indications of puffin population growth, which is good news. He pointed out that there have been studies showing tourist activities have been impacting the puffins and the gannets, with a steadily increasing on the islands each year. Tourism, an important factor for the region, is nearly completely without restrictions. Existing signage has partially mitigated the problem for the gannets, but further initiatives are required for the puffins.