Species Action Plan on the way for the Yelkouan Shearwater

An international workshop on Marine Important Bird Areas in Malta and the Mediterranean was held in November last year. The meeting was organized by the LIFE+Malta Seabird Project and BirdLife International and held in Gozo, Malta (click here).

A report on the workshop and a list of presentations made is now available.

A presentation made at the meeting by Thierry Micol and Bernard Deceuninck (LPO, France) discussed progress, including forming an international working group, towards a Species Action Plan (SAP) for the Yelkouan Shearwater Puffinus yelkouan, a seabird endemic to the Mediterranean and Black Seas.  It is intended to hold a workshop in France this year, from which an SAP will be produced by 2017.

Yelkouan Shearwater

The Yelkouan Shearwater has been identified by ACAP’s Advisory Committee as a potential candidate for listing within the Agreement.  The closely-related Balearic Shearwater P. mauretanicus, endemic to the Mediterranean, is an ACAP-listed species.

Reference:

Micol, T. & Deceuninck, B. 2016.  LIFE Euro SAP Yelkouan Shearwater Puffinus yelkouan.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 19 January 2016