Yelkouan Shearwater classed as 'Near Threatened' species

A total of 1,226 bird species are now threatened worldwide and eight have been newly classed as Critically Endangered, the highest threat category, according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The list was launched yesterday by BirdLife International together with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) during a press conference in Bonn at the ninth Convention on Biological Diversity (COPCBD).

The 2008 IUCN Red List makes grim reading. Of the 26 species that changed category owing to changes in their population size, rate of decline or range size, 24 were uplisted to a higher level of threat. Of particular concern, in the Maltese context, is the fact that the Yelkouan Shearwater (Garnija) has been upgraded from Least Concern to Near Threatened. Recent research, such as that carried out by Maltese ornithologist John J. Borg from Heritage Malta, has highlighted the fact that breeding populations of this species have declined significantly in recent years.

In Malta, which has around 10 per cent of the world's population of this species, the EU LIFE Yelkouan Shearwater project is now in its second year and is carrying out a series of initiatives to protect the Maltese breeding populations. The Yelkouan Shearwater is facing a whole range of threats locally, including predation by rats, accidental by-catch, light pollution, illegal hunting (particularly at sea) and urban development.

"The IUCN Red List is a very important piece of work," explained André Raine, BirdLife Malta's conservation manager. "These recent upgrades should be a warning sign also to the Maltese government that they need to take action to protect bird populations.

"The EU Birds Directive is one of the most effective pieces of conservation legislation designed to conserve birds. However, the government is yet to fully implement the Birds Directive into local law, and this includes giving full legal protection to all Important Bird Areas with Special Protection Area (SPA) status."

Last year, the European Commission sent the first warning letter to Malta for insufficient Special Protected Area designation in the Maltese islands. Of the 11 Internationally Important Bird Areas (IBA) identified by BirdLife Malta and BirdLife International, the government has so far fully designated only four of these areas as Special Protection Areas (SPA), as required by the Birds Directive. Of the remaining IBAs six, including Ta' Ċenċ, are partially covered by SPAs, and one is not covered at all by SPA boundaries.

"These areas are not only important for Yelkouan Shearwaters but also for a number of other bird species that are threatened at either the national or international level.

"Full designation of protected areas is, therefore, critical to protecting these species in Malta. If this is not taken seriously, then the situation regarding the Yelkouan Shearwater may become even bleaker in the next IUCN Red List," Dr Raine said.