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ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil 2003 60(5):980-989; doi:10.1016/S1054-3139(03)00099-7
© 2003 by ICES/CIEM International Council for the Exploration of the Sea/Conseil International pour l'Exploration de la Mer
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Utilization of discards and offal from commercial fisheries by seabirds in the Baltic Sea

Stefan Garthea,b,* and Birgit Scherpb

a Research and Technology Centre (FTZ), University of Kiel, Hafentrn D-25761 Büsum, Germany
b Department of Marine Ecology, Institute of Marine Research Duesternbrooker Weg 20, D-24105 Kiel, Germany

*Correspondence to S. Garthe; tel: +49 4834 604116; fax: +49 4834 604199. e-mail: garthe{at}ftz-west.uni-kiel.de.

The distribution and abundance of scavenging seabirds and their utilization of discards and offal between June and December 1998 were studied in the western Baltic Sea. Herring gulls were clearly the most numerous scavenging species in all areas and all seasons, followed by great black-backed gulls, lesser black-backed gulls and mew gulls. High percentages of discarded gadoids (cod, whiting), clupeids (herring, sprat), scad, rockling and offal were consumed by seabirds during experimental discarding on fishing boats, whereas the percentages of flatfish consumed were extremely low. There was a clear effect of cod length on total and species-specific consumption by birds but this pattern was hardly evident for clupeids or dab. By combining official discard and offal statistics and our experimental discarding, we estimate that 6500 t of fish discards and 16 000 t of offal were consumed annually by seabirds in the Baltic Sea. Bivalves, especially blue mussels Mytilus edulis, were the most frequently represented food item in herring gull pellets. Fish identified in the pellets consisted mainly of gadoids, in particular cod. The proportion of discards in herring gull pellets was on average 1.6% (range: 0–4.5%) at Laboe and 17.5% at Warnemünde (range: 9.4–25.5%), but pellets bias diet assessment as offal and other soft prey (including clupeids) will be under-represented. Scavenging on discards and offal is a widespread phenomenon in the Baltic Sea as it is in other shelf areas of Europe, but the number of bird species involved is generally lower and strongly biased towards gulls, especially herring gulls.

Keywords: fisheries, discards, seabirds, Baltic Sea, gulls, diet

Received 1 January 2003; accepted 1 April 2003.


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