GPS tracking of great skuas Stercorarius skua to investigate interactions with fisheries and marine renewable energy developments

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We used GPS technology to improve our understanding of how a declining breeding population of a scarce endemic seabird, the great skua (Stercorarius skua), uses the marine environment by tracking the movements and behaviour of breeding adults from two Scottish special protection areas on the Orkney and Shetland Islands. We assessed spatial overlap with a long-term human activity (fishing) and a relatively recent human activity (marine renewable energy generation) to improve our understanding of this species’ response to current and future pressures. These pressures include the increasing development of the marine environment for renewable energy generation and changes to fisheries discard policies. Increasing our understanding of seabird movements at sea in relation to human activities will support marine spatial planning (MSP) by informing the management of sustainable marine activities, the sensitive designation of sites for marine renewable energy development and the implementation of marine protected areas.