Today is World Seabird Day

The Great Auk was once widely distributed across islands in the North Atlantic but became extinct due to excessive hunting by humans

Today is World Seabird Day.  Held on 3 July, it marks the date the now extinct Great Auk Pinguinis impennis was last seen alive in 1844.  The World Seabird Union, an organization comprised of the world’s seabird societies, announced the first annual World Seabird Day in 2017.

“Most seabird species are currently threatened by human activities, such as fisheries, oil pollution and climate change.  Seabird scientists and enthusiasts commemorate this date to raise awareness of the ongoing conservation threats to seabird populations.”

 
Wandering Albatross at sea, by April Grossruck of Artists and Biologists Unite for Nature for World Albatross Day 2020, after a photograph by Laurie Smaglick Johnson

Read a 2022 article marking World Seabird Day that concentrates on the threats albatrosses face from longline fisheries here.

03 July 2024