An oiled
shag on a polluted beachThe Islands of Skomer and Skokholm, just to the west of the point where the tanker was first holed, support very substantial breeding colonies of sea birds, including Manx Shearwaters (Puffinus puffinus), Guillemots (Uria aalge), Razorbills (Alca torda) and Puffins (Fratercula arctica).
Grassholm Island, a little further out to sea, supports one of Europe's largest breeding colonies of Gannets (Sula bassana), with a population in the region of 25,000 pairs. All of these species are fish eating birds. They are, therefore, extremely vulnerable with respect to oil pollution.
Fortunately, most summer breeders were outside the region at the time of the oil spill. Even so, significant numbers of guillemots and a range of other seabird species were affected. A few weeks later, the bulk of the puffins and Manx shearwaters began to congregate for the nesting season. Had the spill taken place in spring or summer, the death toll of seabirds would have been very much greater.
An oiled
shag on a polluted beach
A shag
rescued at sea
To the east lies St Margaret's Island, which usually supports a large breeding colony of Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo). These birds spend much of their time in shallow coastal waters, swimming on the surface and diving for fish. Cormorants throughout the region were severely affected by the oil spill.
University of Wales Swansea School of Biological Sciences Home Page
Authors: Peter Dyrynda, Rob Symberlist
Contributors: Derek Thomas, Paul Llewellyn
Contact: P.Dyrynda@swansea.ac.uk
Update: 22/1/98