Rising numbers of dead seabirds on the Dutch coast due to abnormally warm waters

Large numbers of starved razorbills and guillemots are washing up dead on the Dutch coast, much more than usual. This is likely due to abnormally warm water in the North Sea, according to experts.

According to researcher Kees Camphuysen from the NIOZ research institution, these seabirds primarily eat small fish, which only live in cold water. Ecomare, a nature museum and seal sanctuary on Texel, and Sovon, a knowledge institute for birds, described the situation as a mass stranding of dead seabirds.

Ecomare received dozens of reports of dead birds along the coastline daily. Every so often, one of these birds is still alive, but it is so emaciated that it must be euthanized. According to Sovon, over 600 dead birds have been found along the North Sea coast so far. Researcher Camphuysen from NIOZ noted that this number is likely to increase significantly in the coming weeks.

In the past, mass strandings of seabirds were typically caused by leaked fuel oil at sea. Nowadays, oil spills in the North Sea are almost nonexistent, Ecomare explained. Camphuysen pointed out that the seawater was abnormally warm this summer. He mentioned that researchers observed more unusual phenomena in the North Sea this summer, possibly related to the warming of the water.

It is also striking that so many of the dead birds are razorbills. These birds usually only arrive in this region during the winter. They could be birds from the rapidly expanding colony off the British coast. According to Sovon, there might also be a food issue in the central North Sea, causing the larger birds to migrate south earlier for wintering. Currently, more dead razorbills than dead guillemots are being found, Camphuysen remarked.