Slow progress to the year 2061? Tracking plastic pollution in the North Sea via the Arctic Fulmar

Stomach contents of a beached Arctic Fulmar in 2025 – see details of all 76 beached individuals here

Once again, Susanne Kühn (Wageningen Marine Research, Den Helder, The Netherlands) and colleagues have produced an annual report in their series on plastic pollution in beach-wrecked Arctic Fulmars Fulmarus glacialis from The Netherlands.

“In 2025, we received 76 fulmars, of which 65 still had an intact stomach.  As the annual numbers vary, we usually combine results in 5- year averages (2021-2025).  From this period, 283 fulmars were available. 92% of them ingested some plastic, on average 23 pieces weighing 0.24g per bird.  48% had more plastic in their stomach than required by the OSPAR/EU Fulmar Threshold Value of 0.1 gram.  The long-term goal is than no more than 10% of these birds exceed this threshold. According to our forecast, this target could be reached in the year of 2061.”

An Arctic Fulmar in the North Sea

Access the project’s previous annual report here, which stated the 10% target would be reached only in 2077.

With thanks to Susanne Kühn.

Reference:

Kühn, S., Meijboom, A., Bittner, O. & Van Franeker, J.A. 2026.  Fulmar Litter Monitoring in the Netherlands – Update 2025.  Den Helder: Wageningen Marine Research Report C045/26 and RWS Centrale Informatievoorziening Report.  Pp. 28.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 30 October 2025