The most reliable data on Canadian populations of Northern Gannet are from Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Seabird Colony Monitoring Program. Though the program began in the 1960s at some colonies, it has only been since 1994 (and until 2009) that this survey has been executed simultaneously at all six colonies and regularly repeated at approximately 5-year intervals. Between 2009 and 2014, aerial surveys of all gannet colonies were conducted every year (except Anticosti Island), initially to monitor the effects of the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. During this period, it was observed that the population was no longer following an increasing trajectory. Low reproductive success was recorded, but this was apparently a result of changes in prey distribution and abundance, especially mackerel, that required the birds to forage farther away than usual (Chapdelaine and Rail 2014). However, over the long-term, abundance of Northern Gannet is still far above the levels found in 1970s. Because of the specialized and targeted survey design, the reliability of these data, and therefore of this assessment, are considered high. The Northern Gannet population is currently at an acceptable level relative to its national population goal (see graph below).
Additional information on: Seabird Colony Monitoring Program
