Larus marinus -- Linnaeus, 1758ANIMALIA -- CHORDATA -- AVES -- CHARADRIIFORMES -- LARIDAECommon names: Great Black-backed Gull; Goéland marin; Greater Black-backed Gull

European Red List AssessmentEuropean Red List Status

LC -- Least Concern, (IUCN version 3.1)

Assessment InformationYear published: 2015Date assessed: 2015-03-31Assessor(s): BirdLife InternationalReviewer(s): Symes, A.Compiler(s): Ashpole, J., Burfield, I., Ieronymidou, C., Pople, R., Tarzia, M., Wheatley, H. & Wright, L.Assessment RationaleEuropean regional assessment: Least Concern (LC)EU27 regional assessment: Least Concern (LC)

At both European and EU27 scales this species has a very large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence 10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). Despite the fact that the population trend appears to be decreasing, the decline is not believed to be sufficiently rapid to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (30% decline over ten years or three generations).

For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern within both Europe and the EU27.

OccurrenceCountries/Territories of OccurrenceNative:Austria; Belgium; Bulgaria; Czech Republic; Denmark; Faroe Islands (to DK); Greenland (to DK); Estonia; Finland; France; Germany; Greece; Iceland; Ireland, Rep. of; Italy; Latvia; Lithuania; Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Portugal; Romania; Russian Federation; Slovakia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; United Kingdom; Gibraltar (to UK)Vagrant:Belarus; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Croatia; Cyprus; Hungary; Luxembourg; Montenegro; Serbia; Slovenia; Turkey

PopulationThe European population is estimated at 118,000-133,000 pairs, which equates to 237,000-266,000 mature individuals. The population in the EU27 is estimated at 40,600-47,000 pairs, which equates to 81,100-94,000 mature individuals. For details of national estimates, see Supplementary PDF.

TrendIn Europe and the EU27 the population size is estimated to be decreasing by less than 25% in 36 years (three generations). For details of national estimates, see Supplementary PDF.

Habitats and EcologyThe species occurs along rocky or sandy coasts, estuaries and open seas, and larger inland waters, fields and moorland. It breeds on vegetated islands, dunes, flat-topped stacks, and sometimes salt-marsh islands among bushes, and locally on buildings (Burger et al. 2013). It is omnivorous and opportunistic, preying on fish, adult and young birds, bird eggs, mammals, marine invertebrates, insects, carrion, rubbish, offal and berries. Fish include cod (Gadus morhua), herring (Clupea harengus), and capelin (Mallotus villosus). It is an aggressive predator, particularly on eggs and chicks of L. argentatus, Rissa tridactyla, ducks, seabirds, and other species (Burger et al. 2013).

Habitats & AltitudeHabitat (level 1 - level 2) Importance Occurrence

Artificial/Terrestrial - Arable Land suitable non-breedingArtificial/Terrestrial - Pastureland suitable non-breedingMarine Coastal/Supratidal - Coastal Sand Dunes suitable breedingMarine Coastal/Supratidal - Sea Cliffs and Rocky Offshore Islands major breedingMarine Intertidal - Rocky Shoreline suitable breedingMarine Intertidal - Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars, Spits, Etc suitable breedingMarine Intertidal - Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars, Spits, Etc suitable non-breedingMarine Intertidal - Shingle and/or Pebble Shoreline and/or Beaches suitable breedingMarine Intertidal - Shingle and/or Pebble Shoreline and/or Beaches suitable non-breedingMarine Intertidal - Tidepools suitable breedingMarine Neritic - Estuaries suitable non-breedingMarine Neritic - Macroalgal/Kelp suitable breedingMarine Neritic - Macroalgal/Kelp suitable non-breedingMarine Neritic - Pelagic suitable breedingMarine Neritic - Pelagic suitable non-breedingMarine Neritic - Seagrass (Submerged) suitable breedingMarine Neritic - Seagrass (Submerged) suitable non-breedingMarine Neritic - Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel suitable breedingMarine Neritic - Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel suitable non-breedingMarine Neritic - Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs suitable breedingMarine Neritic - Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs suitable non-breedingMarine Neritic - Subtidal Sandy suitable breedingMarine Neritic - Subtidal Sandy suitable non-breedingMarine Neritic - Subtidal Sandy-Mud suitable breedingMarine Neritic - Subtidal Sandy-Mud suitable non-breedingWetlands (inland) - Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over ha) suitable non-breedingAltitude Occasional altitudinal limits

ThreatsThe species is hunted for sport in Denmark (Bregnballe et al. 2006). It is vulnerable to collision with offshore wind farms (Bradbury et al. 2014). It is also vulnerable to being caught as bycatch in fishing gears, including longlines, trawls and gillnets (Anderson et al. 2011, Zydelis et al. 2013). It is vulnerable to coastal oil spills and other types of surface water pollution.Threats & Impacts

Threat (level 1) Threat (level 2) Impact and StressesBiological resource use

Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources (unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest])

Timing Scope Severity ImpactOngoing Unknown Unknown Unknown

StressesSpecies mortality

Biological resource use

Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals (intentional use - species is the target)

Timing Scope Severity ImpactOngoing Minority (<50%) Unknown Unknown

StressesSpecies mortality

Climate change & severe weather

Storms & flooding Timing Scope Severity ImpactOngoing Unknown Unknown Unknown

StressesEcosystem degradation; Indirect ecosystem effects

Energy production & mining

Renewable energy Timing Scope Severity ImpactOngoing Unknown Unknown Unknown

StressesSpecies mortality

Threats & ImpactsThreat (level 1) Threat (level 2) Impact and Stresses

Human intrusions & disturbance

Recreational activities

Timing Scope Severity ImpactOngoing Majority (50-90%) Unknown Unknown

StressesSpecies disturbance

Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases

Unspecified species Timing Scope Severity ImpactOngoing Unknown Unknown Unknown

StressesSpecies mortality

Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases

Unspecified species Timing Scope Severity ImpactOngoing Unknown Unknown Unknown

Stresses

Pollution Industrial & military effluents (type unknown/unrecorded)

Timing Scope Severity ImpactOngoing Majority (50-90%) Unknown Unknown

StressesEcosystem degradation

Pollution Oil spills Timing Scope Severity ImpactPast, Likely to Return

Unknown Unknown No/Negligible Impact

StressesSpecies mortality

ConservationConservation Actions UnderwayThe species is covered under the African Eurasian Waterbird Agreement. In the EU it is listed under Annex II of the Birds Directive. There are 54 Important Bird Areas within Europe for this species. Within the EU there are 111 Special Protection Areas which include this species.

Conservation Actions ProposedContinued monitoring of numbers hunted. On board observer programmes on fishing vessels to monitor bycatch rates, and appropriate mitigation measures implemented where necessary.

BibliographyAnderson, O.R.J., Small, C.J., Croxall, J.P., Dunn, E.K., Sullivan, B.J., Yates, O., Black, A., 2011. Global seabird bycatch in longline fisheries. Endang Species Res 14, 91–106.Bradbury, G., Trinder, M., Furness, B., Banks, A.N., Caldow, R.W.G., Hume, D., 2014. Mapping Seabird Sensitivity to Offshore Wind Farms. PLoS ONE 9, e106366.Bregnballe, T.; Noer, H.; Christensen, T. K.; Clausen, P.; Asferg, T.; Fox, A. D.; Delany, S. 2006. Sustainable hunting of migratory waterbirds: the Danish approach. In: Boere, G.; Galbraith, C., Stroud, D. (ed.), Waterbirds around the world, pp. 854-860. The Stationary Office, Edinburgh, UK.Burger, J., Gochfeld, M., Kirwan, G.M., Christie, D.A. & Bonan, A. (2013). Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.) (2013). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Editions, Barcelona.Žydelis, R., Small, C., French, G., 2013. The incidental catch of seabirds in gillnet fisheries: A global review. Biological Conservation 162, 76–88.

Map (see overleaf)