FAME - "Future of the Atlantic Marine Environment"

FAME in Ireland. What is it about? www.fameproject.eu 

• Breeding seabird monitoring – Have there been changes in numbers at any of the largest west coast cliff colonies (Cliffs of Moher & Horn Head)? How many young are fledged each year for species like Shag, Kittiwake, Guillemot & Razorbill?
• Seabird tracking – Where do breeding seabirds feed? Linking sea areas & marine features to key colonies [using small GPS tags temporarily attached to the adults’ backs while they gather foods for their young].
• Late summer/autumn seabird movements – 'Seatrack' a land based survey undertaken by volunteers from headlands all around Ireland between July & November. Run as part of a coordinated approach across Atlantic Europe [countries involved Ireland, France, Spain and Portugal].
• Mapping seabird distributions in Ireland’s enormous Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) – are there any hotspots? [getting trained volunteers on to research cruises on board the R.V. CelticExplorer & R.V. Celtic Voyager working alongside Marine Mammal Observers and other scientists.
• Assessing the interactions between Irish-based fisheries and seabirds - the Spanish Fleet long-lining for hake in the Irish EEZ has been shown to inadvertently kill a large number of Great Shearwaters through bycatch. These birds breed in the Southern Atlantic and spend some of their non-breeding season off Ireland where they are vulnerable to bycatch. The Irish fleet does not appear to impact seabird populations, as they do not use long-lining methods (baited hooks).
• Identifying important sea areas used by seabirds - Feeding areas, migratory corridors & flyways as candidate ‘Marine Protected Areas’/Important Bird Areas.
• Promote wise and sustainable use of our sea area (EEZ) and marine resources and support other relevant campaigns (e.g. OCEAN2012).
• FAME is funded by the EU Atlantic Area INTERREG Programme & BirdWatch Ireland.