In Canada, Common Murres are found breeding primarily in Atlantic Canada, but also occur in smaller numbers along the coast of British Columbia. Population trends vary among colonies but overall, the Canadian population appears to have increased since 1970, especially on the Atlantic coast (Wilhelm et al. 2015a). Common Murres are only hunted by residents of Newfoundland and Labrador and by Indigenous people. Harvest levels decreased significantly following the implementation of hunting regulations and have since been within the target sustainable level of harvest. Common Murres are highly susceptible to gillnet fisheries and oil pollution; both of these anthropogenic activities result in significant murre mortality. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.
Bycatch of seabirds in commercial fisheries is an important conservation concern with the majority of reported catches in the gillnet fishery involving Common Murre. In the Pacific, salmon gillnets continue to take a heavy toll (Ellis et al. 2013). In Atlantic Canada, closure of the cod fishery resulted in a drastic reduction in gillnet mortality, and a measurable response in the Common Murre population (Regular et al. 2013). Nevertheless, mortality from entanglement in nets is still significant (Gaston et al. 2009). Increased egg and chick predation and/or nest desertion due to disturbance is a growing concern, as reduced sea ice is forcing polar bears to search for alternate prey on land (Kuletz et al. 2017, and references therein). Murres are also highly susceptible to chronic and accidental oil pollution. Off the coast of Newfoundland, oiling rates were among the highest in the world (Wiese and Ryan 1999), but have declined since the 2000s (Wilhelm et al. 2009). Still, in light of increasing oil development in Atlantic Canada, the risk of accidental oil pollution is great. Murres continue to be harvested by residents of Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as Indigenous peoples, but harvest levels have declined significantly after hunting regulations were implemented in 1994 and are now well-within the sustainable harvest limits. In recent years (2013-2017), 20,000 to 40,000 Common Murres have been harvested each year in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:
Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.
