Emden, April 5, (dpa/GNA) - In preparation for possible further outbreaks of the highly contagious bird flu in breeding colonies of seabirds in the Wadden Sea, experts have agreed on recommendations for action.
Where necessary, carcasses of dead birds should be collected more frequently during the upcoming breeding season in the largest tidal flats system in the world, located in the southeastern part of the North Sea.
“This gives us a chance to contain an outbreak,” said Kristine Meise, programme manager for migration and biodiversity at the Wadden Sea Secretariat, representing the states of Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands.
But these interventions would have to be carefully weighed up, she said, as collection would also mean disturbing the environment.
“It could lead to infected animals migrating and carrying the virus on to other colonies,” she told dpa.
Last year, bird flu first became rampant in seabird colonies in the Wadden Sea during the breeding season.
The virus caused immense damage, for example to species such as Sandwich terns and gannets. Birds died or broke off their breeding prematurely.
In order to get an overview of the spread of the virus as early as possible, scientists now want to increasingly test live birds for the virus.
The Wadden Sea National Park Authority of the German state of Lower Saxony, for example, plans to test Sandwich tern chicks for the virus this year as part of pilot measures.
The recommendations are the results of an interdisciplinary workshop in Wilhelmshaven, Germany at the end of March, which was organized by the Wadden Sea Secretariat, among others.
GNA