Seabirds are under threat worldwide from a variety of pressures both on land and at sea. Food availability is often an important driver of seabird survival and productivity. Large amounts of offal are discarded by the fishing industry in the North Sea, with many seabirds already making use of this fisheries waste as part of their diet, targeted offal provisioning has been suggested as a means of bolstering specific seabird populations most affected by human activities.
To identify species most at risk, we conducted population modelling of eight local seabird populations in the FFC SPA. A literature review of seabird-fishing vessel interactions and temporal analyses indicated there was potential for targeted black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) provisioning in the afternoon. Using recent data on North Sea offal discards, energetic models were built to estimate how many seabirds could be supported under three different scenarios. It was found that between 200 and 6000 individuals could be supported in the breeding season, depending on the scenario.
Impacts of offal consumption on seabird populations were also reviewed, to assess the potential ecological implications of offal provisioning. There is a severe lack of research into the effects of an offal-rich diet on seabirds, though findings suggest there could be significant detrimental effects for both adults and chicks. There may be also important ecosystem-level ramifications of offal provisioning, with the potential for trophic cascades occurring within both seabird and benthic communities. Additionally, several key limitations were identified; to address these limitations, we provide a series of recommendations for future work to be conducted.