Burhou’s puffins protected by order of the Admiralty

The zone gives protection to the puffin population breeding in the Ramsar site on the tiny uninhabited island just off the north-west of Alderney.

The zone, which has had a local designation since 2018, will now be officially recognised by the UK Hydrographic Office to help to improve awareness of it, especially with visiting mariners who may not be aware of local regulations and customs.

Alderney Ramsar secretariat Alex Purdie said the new protection had been put in place just as the puffin season was kicking off.

‘We have a raft count of 110 at the moment, that’s the numbers resting at sea,’ he said.

‘With puffins, when one adult is on the nest the other is fishing or resting. The zone gives them somewhere they can rest out of the wind and tide where they are not disturbed and so not having to constantly waste energy flying away.

‘This will hopefully give Alderney’s puffins better protection, and boost their chances of raising chicks, aka pufflings, this year.’

The island normally has a population of around 180 nesting pairs. That number has remained fairly stable over the last few years after recovering from a dip in 2014.

‘This was due to some storms at sea which really affected numbers,’ he said.

‘But this is still a fraction of colonies further north, which can have thousands of pairs, so it is still very fragile.’

Atlantic puffins are currently listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as an endangered species in Europe, with rapid population declines likely due to threats including human disturbance, climate change, renewable energy production, pollution and even disease like avian influenza.

‘Such threats, compounded with their low breeding rates of just one chick per pair per year, makes puffins very sensitive species,’ said Mr Purdie.

‘We kindly ask all mariners to help protect puffins by following the code of conduct when near Burhou. Anyone can help by raising awareness of the Puffin Friendly Zone and helping to police it by informing the Alderney Harbour Office or the AWT if they see marine users within the zone.’

Steve Roberts, States of Alderney member with responsibility for the environment, asked all responsible boat owners to observe this area of outstanding beauty and ecological importance.

‘This in turn will preserve the birds protected habitats, for the present and the future, with consideration to dwindling numbers of some species,’ he said.

‘It is their world, which we need to recognise and preserve.’

• The puffins can be watched on the puffincam.