Making the seas safer for birds
Atlantic Puffin. Photo: Alex Berger/Audubon Photography Awards
From overfishing of prey, to climate change, and pollution, seabirds are threatened at every part of their life cycle. That's why Audubon is working to reverse the seabird crisis by focusing on sustainable fisheries management, marine protected areas, and our Seabird Restoration Program.
A unanimous vote today recognizes the important role menhaden play for birds, fish, and other wildlife on the Atlantic Coast.
Learn what you can do to help shorebirds and the food they rely on.
A small fish called menhaden will be better managed in Virginia.
We are working to establish marine protected areas at key locations throughout the Western Hemisphere, including in the U.S., Bahamas, and Chile. Marine protected areas are key to providing habitats for seabirds, fish, and other marine life that benefit coastal communities and economies. For example, the new Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, which Audubon and others helped establish through advocacy and education encompasses crucial wintering grounds for Atlantic Puffins that nest in Maine. Its designation as a national monument limits fishing, drilling, and mining within this nearly 5,000-square-mile region. In addition, in the Bahamas, our scientific data was factored into the establishment of the 92,000-acre Joulter Cays Marine Protected Area, which is the wintering home for thousands of shorebirds, including 10% of the Atlantic population of Piping Plovers. Such protections uphold rich habitats that grow commercial fish populations, while providing a refuge for birds and other wildlife. In coalition with our partners, Audubon will advocate for continued and new protections for these marine protected areas.
Joulter Cays National Park supports birds like Piping Plovers and Red Knots, as well as fishing and ecotourism.
Pres. Trump to allow commercial fishing in the Atlantic Coast’s only marine national monument.
The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts will continue to provide safe wintering grounds for Atlantic Puffins.
The Hog Island instructor, photographer, and journalist shares his experience as a Black birder working with puffins.
The Chinese Crested Tern was written off as extinct decades ago. Since its rediscovery in 2000, scientists have been working to ensure that Asia’s rarest seabird keeps a firm foothold in reality.
In his twenties the ornithologist had an audacious idea: to restore puffins to the Maine coast. Upon his retirement he reflects on how he pulled it off.
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