Links to External Databases, Tools & Organizations

Contents

Databases and Spatial Resources Directly Related to Seabirds
Other Resources Related to Seabirds
Resources Related to Fisheries and Bycatch
Other Resources with Useful Information Related to Seabirds

 

Frigatebirds Fregata spp. attend a fishing boat.  Photo by sunsinger/Shutterstock. 

 

 

 

Databases and Spatial Resources Directly Related to Seabirds

Database or Resource Description
OBIS-SEAMAP A spatially referenced online database, aggregating marine mammal, seabird and sea turtle observation data from across the globe. Click on Advanced Search or Browse Species to get to the portal that allows you to search by species.
Reference: Halpin, P.N., A.J. Read, E. Fujioka, B.D. Best, B. Donnelly, L.J. Hazen, C. Kot, K. Urian, E. LaBrecque, A. Dimatteo, J. Cleary, C. Good, L.B. Crowder, and K.D. Hyrenbach. 2009. OBIS-SEAMAP: The world data center for marine mammal, sea bird, and sea turtle distributions. Oceanography 22(2):104-115.
World Seabird Union The website has much information on seabirds and seabird research efforts, and provides links to many resources.
Seabird Information Network This is a page on the World Seabird Union. It has links to about 20 resources (including the one you're using now!). Some of these are global in their coverage, some regional; some relate to breeding colonies or to tracking databases; and some focus on monitoring of populations.
World Seabird Colony Register The Register contains data on over 63 colonial-nesting species of seabirds, including locations, population trends and productivity. Once registered, users can download data that are unrestricted.
Atlas of Marine Important Bird Areas The Atlas highlights marine areas identified by BirdLife International as being important for globally threatened bird species and/or congregations of >1% of a species's global population.
Seabird Tracking Database The database has satellite tracking information for over 70 species (and increasing) of seabirds, contributed by seabird scientists all over the world. These data can be filtered and interacted with online, and may be obtained upon request by registered users.
North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database The database compiles 40 years of ship-based survey data for 160 seabird species in the North Pacific.  You can download the database for local use (Microsoft Access format).
Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels ACAP has a Data Portal where you can search by island to see which of the species covered by the agreement are recorded nesting there. Choose the ''Sites'' tab.
Bycatch Management Information System There are sections to search for information on Management, Mitigation Techniques, Population-level Assessments, and Regulations (primarily oriented to regulations of the tuna RFMOs themselves, not national regulations). The References section provides options to search for information on bycatch by gear type, species group, year, and keyword. This database is maintained by the Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.
Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal The Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Oceans shows modeled abundance and occurrence maps for US waters in the Atlantic Ocean from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA, south to Pamlico Sound, North Carolina, USA. It has data showing the distributions of only four species of seabirds: Black Scoter Melanitta americana, Red-throated Loon Gavia stellata, Surf Scoter Melanitta perspicillata, and White-winged Scoter Melanitta deglandi. However, it also has map layers for several species of whales, sea turtles, and some other species, and also shows fishing intensity by gear type.
Information for Planning and Conservation (IPaC) This is a web-based tool that is restricted to the USA, including territorial waters. By defining an area, you can identify bird (or possibly mammals or other groups) species in the area that are protected or of conservation concern. It also identifies protected areas.It can also assist with impact analysis.
New Zealand Seabird Prioritization Framework NEW! The Seabird Prioritization Framework focuses on New Zealand waters and primarily has information on the albatross species. It combines information on populations and demographics, distribution, and risk asssessment tools. Distribution maps can be overlaid with information on fishing intensity, shipping lanes, protected areas, and energy and minerals development. 

 

 

Other Resources Related to Seabirds

Database or Resource Description
Agreement for the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels The ACAP has compiled a list of identification guides in order to help observers identify bycaught animals. This guide covers 37 Procellariiform species The website also has species information sheets and regularly updated current news items.
Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction The Consortium has good information on bycatch reduction methods and studies on the effectiveness of those methods, and seabird bycatch links.
Southern Seabird Solutions This site has good resources for New Zealand-area fisheries, although some information is applicable elsewhere.

 

 

Resources Related to Fisheries and Bycatch

Database or Resource Description
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)  The FAO has a number of useful databases and reference materials. The FAO collects and collates fishery-related information based on gear type, statistical areas and fish species.   This tool allows you to display the mapped distribution of 682 fish species of commercial interest. Another query-based tool can produce maps of tuna and billfish catches by gear type and species back as far as 1950.
Sea Around Us NEW! The data pages from Sea Around Us include extensive global information on fishery catch tonnages by species or country or region, as well as information on fishery economics (values, subsidies, etc.). The may visualize the data directly on the website or obtain tabular data to use for one’s own analyses. You can watch their 5-minute tutorial.
Global Fishing Watch NEW! This mapping tool allows users to review fishing effort and intensity worldwide, through mapping of data from Automatic Identification System (AIS) data from fishing vessels.
Marine Stewardship Council The MSC develops and maintains standards for best practice in fisheries management, and certifies fisheries that meet these standards.

 

 

Other Resources with Useful Information Related to Seabirds

Database or Resource Description
FAOLEX The FAO hosts a searchable database of national legislation from all of the countries oin the world. This includes wildlife statutes, often with an English version. Some of these statutes may have impact on seabird bycatch.
Threatened Islands Database Geared more towards informing eradication efforts, the database is a useful tool to identify the locations of colonies of threatened (IUCN categories CR, EN, VU) species of seabirds, mammals and reptiles.
World Database on Protected Areas The WDPA provided a data layer for this website, and these same data are available for download. Additional map layers that may be of interest to users (such as Marine World Heritage Sites and Undersea Features) can be downloaded from Marine Regions.
Biogeographic Atlas of the Southern Ocean This Atlas is an unprecedented synthesis of biotic and abiotic patterns and features in the Southern Ocean.
SeaScribe NEW! This is not a source of information, but rather a tool for gathering information. It is a free app for Android and iOS (Apple) mobile devices. It is a data collection tool for offshore wildlife surveyors, that can be used to standardize survey data collection for surveys of seabirds, marine mammals, or sea turtles.