BirdLife Malta has filed reports with Mepa and the Gozo Police over four dead Cory's Shearwater birds were found dumped on top of the Gharb cliffs last weekend.
The birds' underwing feathers had been plucked.
In the past fishermen used to catch Cory's Shearwater for these feathers which were used as fishing lures, however nowadays longer lasting and more effective artificial lures are widely and cheaply available.
"The birds were probably killed late at night as they landed on ledges in the cliff face, returning to feed their chicks after spending a few days fishing at sea." stated John J. Borg, BirdLife Malta ornithologist.
The birds were found above cliffs which house a medium sized breeding colony of an estimated 300-350 pairs f Cory's Shearwater. The birds have been studied by BirdLife Malta for almost 30 years and many have been fitted with individually numbered rings on their legs. Last year, four birds were also fitted with geo locators – tiny, state-of-the-art electronic tags which record the position of the birds. This was done as part of an ongoing research project aimed at studying Cory's Shearwater migration patterns. The geo locators were attached to the rings on the birds' legs.
One of the killed birds had one leg cut off. The bird had no other visible injuries.
"In most of the colonies being studied we have noticed that over the past few years fewer ringed adult Cory's Shearwater have been returning to breed. Since Cory's Shearwater live up to 30 years and are extremely faithful to their nesting sites, this indicates a high mortality rate amongst adults." said John J. Borg.
Amongst the reasons currently identified for this high mortality rate are illegal killings, such as seen this weekend, nest robbing or shooting, rat predation and accidental catches when fishing. These birds are also sensitive to urbanization, light and noise pollution close to colonies. These pressures have resulted in parts of colonies along Malta and Gozo's coastal cliffs being abandoned, with one colony even being completely abandoned.
These seabirds are offered maximum protection under the EU's Birds Directive, which even requires that areas important to them are protected as Natura 2000 sites.
The European Commission supports conservation efforts focusing on these birds, and it has just approved funding for a LIFE+ project in Malta, headed by BirdLife Malta with the Office of the Prime Minister, SPEA (BirdLife in Portugal) and RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) as partners.