CWS-EC Eastern Canada Seabirds at Sea (ECSAS)

The near and offshore waters of Atlantic Canada support millions of marine birds, including coastal and island breeders, as well as migrants from the southern hemisphere and northeastern Atlantic. Although tied to land during the breeding season when they raise their young, seabirds exist mostly in the marine environment. Since many spend much of their lives out of sight of land, knowledge of their pelagic distribution and ecology can be difficult to obtain. In 2005 the Canadian Wildlife Service of Environment Canada (EC-CWS) set up a monitoring program for seabirds at sea. This program is ongoing and provides data on current seabird abundance and distribution in order to address conservation and management objectives related to the offshore. The sampling strategy relies on ships-of-opportunity that travel throughout the region at all times of the year. The data provide critical information for environmental assessments of offshore developments, identify areas where birds are at high risk for oil pollution and other human activities, and enable us to monitor trends in the marine environment. In addition, the biological, chemical, and physical data collected concurrently by oceanographers with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans provide the means to examine the linkages between seabirds and their marine habitats.