ABSTRACT
The coastal waters around mainland Norway and Svalbard support as many as 2.9 and 3 million breeding pairs of seabirds, respectively [1,2]. During the winter months, most of the seabirds migrate out of the region to more southerly latitudes, whereas some species stay in the area all year round feeding in the marginal sea ice-zone [2-4]. The Atlantic pufˆn (Fratercula arctica) (1,710,000 pairs), the black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) (606,000 pairs), the herring gull (Larus argentatus) (233,000 pairs), the common guillemot (Uria aalge) (137,500 pairs), and the Brünnich’s guillemot (Uria lomvia) (851,500 pairs) are some of the numerous seabird species breeding along the Northern Norwegian coast and in the Svalbard area [1,2].
