UK gannet colonies may take 15 years to recover from bird flu

Gannet populations in the world’s two largest colonies are not expected to recover from the impact of the 2022 bird flu outbreak for nearly two decades.

Seabirds at Bass Rock on the east coast of Scotland and Grassholm on the Pembrokeshire coast in Wales have suffered an “unprecedented lethal blow” during the outbreak, a new study by the RSPB said.

It led to a fourfold increase in mortality of adult gannets, reducing the size of the Bass Rock colony by 26% and at Grassholm by 38%.

Although the outbreak is known to have already killed tens of thousands of birds, the study warned that colonies may not fully recover from the impact until 2041 at the earliest.