The status of breeding seabirds in mainland Norway

Approximately 2.9 million pairs of 18 seabird species breed along the mainland coast of Norway. Of these, 1.4 million pairs breed along the Barents Sea coast and 1.3 million pairs along the Norwegian Sea coast. The commonest species are the Atlantic Puffin Fratercula arctica (1.7 million pairs), the Black-legged Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla (336,000 pairs) and Herring Gull Larus argentatus (233,000 pairs). Norway has a considerable responsibility for a large part of the world’s seabirds as more than 10% of the total biogeographic population of all the present species breed on the Norwegian mainland, and seven of the twenty populations constitute (sometimes considerably) more than 25% of the world. Atlantic or European populations. While some species are increasing in numbers, those of the Atlantic Puffin, Black-legged Kittiwake, Common Guillemot Uria aalge and the northern subspecies of the Lesser Blackbacked Gull Larus fuscus fuscus are all declining rapidly. It is feared that local populations of the Common Guillemot west of the North Cape will become extinct in the near future.