Litter NSV; marine litter monitoring by northern fulmars (a pilot study)

The northern fulmar is a seabird known to consume litter such as plastic. The Dutch government has asked for an investigation of the possibility to use stomach contents of beach-washed fulmars as a monitoring tool for the abundance of marine litter inthe North Sea. Such monitoring is of importance in view of the implementation of the EU directive on port reception facilities and the development of ecological quality objectives by ICES and OSPAR.