PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Most EU countries with pelagic birds (i.e. that spend a significant portion of their lives on the open ocean) have designated Natura 2000 Special Protection Areas (SPAs) offshore for them. However, Croatia has not yet completed an inventory of birds for its marine Natura 2000 network. This data is needed to identify SPAs for the Croatian breeding populations of pelagic birds. As Croatia joined the EU in 2013, before which it had no obligation to report on its progress with implementing the Birds Directive, it does not yet have all the data required. According to the Red Data Book of birds in Croatia, published in 2013, all 3 LIFE Artina project's target species have regionally unfavourable or declining conservation status – the Yelkouan shearwater (Puffinus yelkouan), Scopoli’s shearwater (Calonectris diomedea) and Audouin's gull (Ichthyaetus audouinii, syn. Larus audouinii). Yelkouan shearwater and Audouin’s gull are even listed by the IUCN red list as globally endangered species.
The Lastovsko otocje (Lastovo Islands Nature Park) (SPA HR1000038) is of vital importance for these 3 target species, containing more than 50% of the national population of the Yelkouan shearwater, approximately 30-70% of the Scopoli’s shearwater population and almost 100% of the Audouin’s gull population. The nearby Palagruža archipelago (part of SPA HR1000039) and surrounding sea are also important for biodiversity and for conservation of these 3 bird species, in particular Scopoli's shearwater, due to their offshore and remote position in the Adriatic.
OBJECTIVES
LIFE Artina aimed to help designate marine Special Protection Areas in Croatia, drawing up a list of proposed SPAs and suggested management measures for them. The project's specific goals were to:
- identify marine SPAs in Southern Croatia for the Yelkouan shearwater, Audouin's gull and Scopoli's shearwater
- understand and assess the main threats affecting oceanic bird populations on land and at sea in the project area, and map out actions to mitigate these threats
- eradicate terrestrial invasive species (black rats Rattus rattus) from shearwater breeding colonies and control yellow-legged gulls at Audouin's gull breeding colonies.
RESULTS
The project achieved the following results:
40 Yelkouan shearwater, 40 Scopoli's shearwater and 25 Audouin's gulls tracked and important marine areas for these seabirds identified
- 5 new marine important bird and biodiversity areas (IBAs) for seabirds designated and 2 existing ones expanded
- 15 islands and islets of the Lastovo archipelago are rat-free and annual rat control is implemented on 5 more islands
- feasibility study written up assessing the possibility of permanent rat removal from Sušac island
- Scopoli's shearwaters and/or Yelkouan shearwater breeding colonies recorded on 6 new islets
- the breeding success of the Yelkouan shearwater increased by 39% and Scopoli's shearwater by 8%
- 527 Yelkouan shearwaters, 190 Scopoli's shearwater and 65 Audouin's gulls ringed
- 3 mitigation measures to reduce the bycatch of seabirds tested in cooperation with 6 local fishers
- better knowledge of marine litter presence and composition gained
- 31 beach and underwater clean-ups carried out on Lastovo
- 70 educational workshops and excursions organised
