Conflict management in the area of fisheries/shellfish farming with eider ducks and health checks of eider ducks

Project description 

The Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) is classified as endangered in Europe due to continuous population declines. Meanwhile, its occurrence along the coast of Schleswig-Holstein has potential for conflict with the culturally established and economically important fisheries.
This pilot study will develop approaches to startle common eiders from mussel farms and allow a sustainable coexistence of conventional fisheries in the Baltic habitat and protected species. The main focus is the protection of mussel farms against common eider predation. However, the results can potentially be transferred to fisheries, to prevent unintentional bycatch of birds in gillnets.
Post-mortem examinations of common eiders will be carried out simultaneously, to find out about potential pathological causes for the population decline and gain an insight into the health status of the population. These examinations include bacteriological, virological and parasitological analyses. Furthermore, toxicological analyses will deliver information about environmental pollution load.