Beyond plastic, gannets are facing a "perfect storm" of environmental stressors:
One of the most pressing issues identified in the research is the high incidence of . Gannets often mistake brightly colored plastic, such as red fishing lines or synthetic nets, for nesting material. Download File Barbera & Collar - Gannet.zip
Warming waters are driving key prey species, like mackerel and capelin, further north. This forces gannets to fly longer distances for food, increasing their energy expenditure and decreasing breeding success. Beyond plastic, gannets are facing a "perfect storm"
Studies have found that in certain wintering areas, such as off the coast of Mauritania, up to 20.2% of gannets observed were entangled in marine debris. This forces gannets to fly longer distances for
Immature gannets are significantly more likely to be affected, with entanglement rates nearly 30 times higher than those of adults. This creates a "bottleneck" that threatens the future growth of the population. A Multi-Pronged Ecological Threat