Question reference: S6W-06906
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 25 February 2022
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Current status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 10 March 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what research it has undertaken or is aware of on the likely causes of the reported increased seabird mortality recorded along the North Sea coasts in Autumn 2021.
Answer
The Scottish Government is aware of reports of unusually large numbers of emaciated and dead seabirds that were found along the North Sea costs in autumn 2021 and have been working to establish the potential causes. We have a number of dead seabird, fish, plankton and water samples undergoing analysis with the aim of identifying potential causes for the mortality event. The Scottish Government has been working closely with the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the Sea Mammal Research Unit and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science and the findings of these investigations will be published in due course.