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title: "Protecting shearwaters at night: BirdLife Malta releases Guidelines for Ecologically Responsible Lighting"
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# Protecting shearwaters at night: BirdLife Malta releases Guidelines for Ecologically Responsible Lighting

![Crymbie cover](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Shearwaters/Yelkouan/Crymbie_cover.jpg)

 *The Milky Way as observed from Dwejra, Gozo, Malta, cover photograph by Joseph Caruana*

 “With the aim of protecting Malta’s nocturnal environment for seabirds and beyond, BirdLife Malta’s [LIFE Arċipelagu Garnija project](https://birdlifemalta.org/arcipelagugarnija/) – which this year comes to an end – has released a set of [guidelines for ecologically responsible lighting](https://birdlifemalta.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Guidelines-for-Ecologically-Responsible-Lighting.pdf) in the Maltese Islands.

 These guidelines for best practices in lighting are now being shared with the relevant stakeholders as part of the EU LIFE-funded project which has over the past five years worked to secure the Maltese Islands for the Yelkouan Shearwater [*Puffinus yelkouan*] (Garnija), a small seabird species that can only be found in the Central and Eastern Mediterranean region. The Maltese Islands are home to approximately 10% of the world population of this shearwater species, therefore their protection is important on the global scale, especially with the population declines Yelkouan Shearwaters have been facing over the last decades.”

 ![Yelkouan Shearwater Matthew Borg Cardona](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Shearwaters/Yelkouan/Yelkouan_Shearwater_Matthew__Borg_Cardona.JPG)

 *Yelkouan Shearwater, photograph by Matthew Borg Cardona*

 ![Scopolis lights Malta](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Shearwaters/Corys/Scopolis-lights-Malta.jpg)

 *Undirected shore-line lights in Malta shine brightly*

 Read the whole media release by BirdLife Malta [here](https://birdlifemalta.org/2020/07/protecting-the-nocturnal-environment-for-seabirds-and-beyond/?fbclid=IwAR20bZB27Mnvfp01kbQ1wXjzWcQpyDGSaiNpjGyvBPpjvqcIrKFhpkNQ9og).

 **Reference:**

 Crymble, J. [2020]. * Guidelines for Ecologically Responsible Lighting.  **Protecting the Nocturnal Environment of the Maltese Islands for Seabirds and Beyond**.***** **BirdLife Malta LIFE Arċipelagu Garnija Project**. **39 pp.

 *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 07 August 2020*