Balearic Shearwater (Puffinus mauretanicus)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vertebrate > bird > Bird |
| Red List Status: | Vulnerable (Non-breeding) [VU(nbr)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Puffinus mauretanicus |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Lowe, 1921 |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Stanbury et al., 2021 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | globally threatened, significant population using England waters |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | UK waters hold up to a third of the breeding population in autumn. |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | Pelagic species. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 4. Autecology and pressures understood |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Pressures acting outside England |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Combination - insufficient |
| Species Comments: |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Determine the extent and impact of likely pressures, including bycatch, acting on Balearic shearwaters in English waters as a route to effective conservation measures. This will be key to inform the design of effective mitigation measures.
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Bristol Channel
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Continue to quantify numbers and distribution in English waters and identify those areas important in a national context. Review after 3-5 years to see if key areas and associated pressures can be identified.
Action targets: 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: Unknown
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Based on Actions 1 & 2, determine whether there is sufficient evidence to define key areas for Balearic shearwater protection in English waters, which could include designations and / or other special conservation measures likely to be effective, and implement accordingly.
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: Unknown
High priority sites:
Comments:
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.