Vol. 568 No. 1
744 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government if his Department has ascertained the cause of the deaths of hundreds of sea birds washed ashore along the Wexford coast in mid-April 2003 and the abnormal amounts of shells and crustaceans which preceded it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16067/03]
I am advised that 120 sea birds were recorded washed ashore between Carnsore and Blackwater Head in April 2003. The majority were guillemots, but some razorbills, Manx shearwaters and red-throated divers were also found. A sample of these birds was sent for laboratory analysis, the results of which are not yet available. There is no evidence that abnormal amounts of shells and crustaceans were washed ashore prior to the deaths of the sea birds. While very regrettable, the death of 120 birds is not significant in the context of seabird populations in the vicinity and does not give cause for conservation concern. A recent census by staff of my Department on the Great Saltee Island, the nearest large sea bird colony in County Wexford, recorded some 21,000 guillemots and 4,500 razorbills, an increase from the previous census in 2000.
