SPEA report finds Portugal's seabirds losing ground at sea and land

SPEA-Birdlife launched "Sentinelas do Oceano", updating and expanding on its earlier Atlas das Aves Marinhas with detailed data on 76 species. Coordinator Nuno Oliveira explains that new tracking methods, such as GPS tagging and colony surveys, revealed worsening threats, including bycatch and declining breeding productivity in species such as the Cory's shearwater, Macaronesian shearwater, Zino's petrel and Monteiro's storm-petrel. Wintering populations of species like the Atlantic puffin also face mass mortality events linked to marine heatwaves and climate change. SPEA highlights ongoing conservation efforts in the Berlengas and Azores/Madeira, but stresses these need stronger government and public support.