EcoQO for seabird populations in OSPAR regions II and III

ICES collated and analysed the data for the EcoQO indicator on breeding seabird population trends in OSPAR regions II and III. A first assessment has been made for Region II. ICES estimates that the proposed EcoQO indicator was not achieved  in  1991–1993,  2004,  2006,  and  2008–2010. ICES  advises  that  additional  effort  is  required  to  collect  and  include additional breeding seabird data  for  this  region,  both for species already included  in  the  EcoQO  indicator  and for  several  other  species  (Northern  fulmar,  Northern  gannet,  great  skua,  and  Atlantic  puffin).  ICES  advises  that  the  trend  analyses  for  Region  II  should  not  be  limited  to  one  method  (e.g.  TRIM);  ideally  several  methods  should  be  employed, including those used for Region III. For Region III, ICES estimates that the proposed EcoQO indicator was not  achieved  in  1986,  1989–1992,  and  in  consecutive  years  during  2002–2010,  with an  increasing  number  of  species  failing to meet the target. ICES advises that special attention is given to a number of species such as Northern fulmar, Arctic skua, European shag, herring gull, black-legged kittiwake, and roseate tern.