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Jan van Franeker, 22 February 1954 – 27 October 2026, aboard the Polarstern in Antarctic waters, winter 2013
“Ik blik terug op een rijk en fantastisch leven
Mijn lijf besloot niet meer verder te kunnen”
““I look back on a rich and fantastic life
My body decided it could go no further”
- Jan Andries
ACAP Latest News is saddened to learn of the passing of Dr Jan Andries van Franeker at the age of 72, a marine ornithologist who was a pioneer in the study of plastics ingested by seabirds, most notably by the Arctic or Northern Fulmaris glacialis in the North Sea.
I knew Jan through our membership of the then Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) Bird Biology Subcommittee in the 1990/2000s and his occasional visits to Cape Town to join Antarctic research ships. The SCAR Subcommittee met in 't Horntje on the island of Texel in the Netherlands in 2004 and we then spent an enjoyable evening hosted by Jan and his family at his home on the island.
Jan van Franeker continued to co-author and publish scientific papers on his fulmars right to the present day (see ‘Male and adult northern fulmars Fulmarus glacialis are disproportionately taken as bycatch in Northeast Atlantic longline fisheries’ published in August 2026).
Jan’s long-time colleague at Wageningen Marine Research, Susanne Kühn, writes:
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Jan van Franeker on 27 October 2026. Jan did not like sentimental good-byes, but we would like to take this opportunity to remember his achievements throughout his career. Those who know Jan will remember his hospitality (despite his sometimes grumpy first impression), his patience, his perseverance, and his dedication.
His work in Antarctica was the beginning of a lifelong commitment to understanding and protecting seabirds. Together with his colleagues, Jan developed the Surface and Under Ice Trawl net to follow seabirds on their foraging trips beneath the sea ice, helping to better understand their lives and feeding habits.
The discovery of plastics in the stomachs of Antarctic seabirds opened a second major chapter in his life. For half a century, Jan studied plastics in seabirds and initiated the large-scale ‘Save the North Sea’ campaign, which led to the implementation of long-term monitoring program of plastic in fulmar stomachs across the North Sea and parts of the North Atlantic Ocean. The methods he developed are now considered the standard approach to dissecting seabirds and analysing plastic in their stomach contents worldwide.
It will be no surprise to those who know him that Jan continued working on research articles he hoped to publish until his very last days. He understood the importance of sharing his knowledge. Countless researchers, policymakers, students, schoolkids and members of the general public were invited to learn why protecting the marine environment matters. Once under his wing, he proved to be a committed supervisor and a loyal friend.
Jan’s footsteps will be hard to fill, but many of us will follow his example of critical thinking, dedication, and love for seabirds and the Antarctic environment. In our work, we will often ask ourselves: ‘What would Jan do?’. His door was always open to friends and colleagues from around the world and there was always a cold beer waiting in the fridge.”
Vale, Jan. You did your seabirds proud.
ACAP expresses its condolences to his Jan’s wife, Yvonne, their son and daughter in law Hans and Suzanne and his granddaughters.
John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 04 November 2026
Photograph by Mark Anderson
Studied allopatric and sympatric colonies of Cory's and Scopoli's Shearwaters, from the publication
Three examples of Cory’s Shearwater Calonectris borealis nests on Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, showing the absence (top left) and presence of stone accumulations at the entrances (bottom left and right). The inset is of an incubating adult, from the publication