Bonn, 13 June 2008 - Trend calculations of 34 waterbird species for the entire Wadden Sea and the four regions – The Netherlands, the Federal States of Germany, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein, and Denmark have been prepared by the Joint Monitoring of Migratory Birds (JMMB) Group.

It shows that decreasing trends of several migratory waterbird species were detected in the Wadden Sea. Particularly, the trends detected for the main migration periods gave reason for concern: of the 34 species, for which the Wadden Sea represents a major stepping stone during migration, 15 species (44%) show significant decreases and 7 species (21%) show non-significant decreases.

In contrast, only three species (Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis, Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia and Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis) show significant increases.

Especially in spring and late summer, millions of birds roost along the Wadden Sea to recharge their batteries for their annual migration; during this time they are particularly vulnerable. Possible reasons for the decline are habitat destruction, human disturbances or over-fishing.

For more information please visit: http://www.waddensea-secretariat.org/TMAP/9-birds.html