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Wageningen Marine Research provides no printed copies of reports Wageningen Marine Research is ISO 9001:2015 certified. Photo cover: Dead northern fulmar collected on Texel in March 2021. Photo: Job ten Horn 7. Over the 5-year period 2017-2021, 24% of the birds had ingested paraffin-like substances, with an average mass of 1.8 gram per bird. CONCLUSION On the longer term, stomach contents of fulmars beached in the Netherlands indicate that the marine litter situation off the Dutch coast is gradually improving, but still far off the Fulmar Threshold Value. At the current rate of the trend, the Fulmar-TV might be reached around the year 2066. Within 10-year evaluation periods the trend is not consistent, and showed no significant change over the most recent 2012-2021 decade. Future data must reveal if this reflects a temporary deviation, or a reversal in the longer term trend.

This document is an illustrated report intended for the surveyors in the monitoring program of plastic particles from stomachs of beached Northern Fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis). It contains brief summary information and photos of stomach contents from individual birds. The previous report contained only some of birds collected in 2020 because of corona travel restrictions. The current report therefore shows all birds from the UK for 2020 and 2021 (plus a late 2018 bird from Shetland). Low sample sizes are not a problem for the monitoring program although larger sample sizes will increase the potential for statistical analyses. In order to avoid the variability in annual samples, the 'current situation' is viewed as an average over the most recent five consecutive years. During 2017-2021, 84% of 108 fulmar stomachs from the UK North Sea coasts contained plastic with an average per bird of 24 particles and 0.17 g in mass. The Fulmar-Threshold-Value (FTV) of 0.1 g was exceeded by 45% of the stomachs. The international policy aim is that this percentage should be reduced to below 10%. For details on e.g. trends, see the 2021 update of the scientific monitoring report series for the UK.

Wageningen Marine Research aanvaardt geen aansprakelijkheid voor gevolgschade, noch voor schade welke voortvloeit uit toepassingen van de resultaten van werkzaamheden of andere gegevens verkregen van Wageningen Marine Research. Opdrachtgever vrijwaart Wageningen Marine Research van aanspraken van derden in verband met deze toepassing. Alle rechten voorbehouden. Niets uit deze uitgave mag weergegeven en/of gepubliceerd worden, gefotokopieerd of op enige andere manier gebruikt worden zonder schriftelijke toestemming van de uitgever of auteur.

This document is an illustrated report for the surveyors in the monitoring program of plastics particles in stomachs of beached northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis). It contains short information and photos of stomach contents of individual birds. In 2020 only eighteen corpses could be recovered, three of which contained no stomach. Occasional years of lower sample sizes are not a problem for the monitoring program although larger samples will increase potential for statistical analyses.

ABSTRACTArtificial structures such as offshore oil and gas platforms can significantly alter local species communities. It has been argued that this effect should be considered during decisions over their removal during decommissioning. In the North Sea, leaving such structures in place is prohibited but derogations are allowed for large concrete installations. To assess removal options for one such installation, the Halfweg GBS (gravity-based structure) a concrete platform foundation off the Dutch coast, we studied it’s resident fouling macrofauna community. The faunal structure, biomass and trophic composition of the Halfweg was then compared with those from the surrounding seabed sediments, other local artificial structures and a natural rocky reef.In total, 65 macrofaunal species were observed on the concrete (52 species), steel legs (32) and surrounding rock dump (44) of Halfweg. Mean Simpson’s diversity per sample was highest on the rock dump (0.71) but concrete (0.54) and steel (0.60) of the GBS were lower than seabed (0.69). Fourteen of the species observed on the concrete were not reported on other substrates while 10 of the species were also observed in the surrounding seabed. The GBS structure was numerically dominated by Arthropoda which comprised 98% of the total abundance. Mean ash free dry weight (AFDW) was significantly higher (p<0.001) on the Halfweg substrates (204 g AFDW per m2) than in the surrounding seabed (65 g AFDW per m2). Over 94% of the biomass on Halfweg consisted of the plumose anemone Metridium senile.While common on other reefs, this species was absent from the surrounding seabed. Macrofaunal feeding mechanisms of the concrete and rock dump communities on the GBS were comparable to those of nearby sediments, although these differed from those on the Halfweg steel legs. Multivariate analysis revealed that taxonomic structure of the GBS and other artificial structures significantly differed from that of the sedimentary habitats.Our data show that the Halfweg structures significantly increase local biodiversity and biomass. Removal of the concrete and steel legs of the GBS (leaving the rock dump) will significantly reduce local macrofauna biodiversity. The long-term impact on macrofaunal biomass is considered low. Leaving the complete Halfweg structure in place will result in the highest localised macrofaunal biodiversity.

Dit is een geïllustreerd rapport over de 81 Noordse Stormvogels die in 2021 in Nederland werden onderzocht in het kader van het monitoring programma van plastics in hun magen. Zulk onderzoek maakt deel uit van het internationale programma dat metingen verricht aan de voortgang naar de zogenoemde 'Goede Milieu Toestand (GMT)' in de Europese zeegebieden. Volledige studieresultaten worden in jaarlijkse formele onderzoekrapporten gepubliceerd.This is an illustrated report on the 81 Northern Fulmars investigated in the Netherlands in 2021 for the monitoring program of plastic particles in their stomachs. This research is part of the international program that measures progress towards the so-called 'Good Environmental Status (GES)' in European marine waters. Full study results will be published in a formal research report.