CBird Group (The Circumpolar Seabird Expert Group) Annual Meeting was held in Torshavn, the capital of Faroe Islands, in 7th -9th March 2017. The CBird Group is an Expert Group under CAFF, which was established in 1993 to enhance seabird research and conservation in the Arctic. 22 delegates attended the meeting from 8 Arctic Council countries and 3 observer countries. This is first time for Japan to participate CBird Group.
The meeting started off with the activity report of each country since the last meeting. The CBird Group chair introduced and welcomed the participation of Japan as an observer. I gave a short presentation about Japan’s seabird research activity in the Arctic, which was received well by participating countries. The Group then updated the population status of key seabird species and discussed about the management plans for species of conservation concern. The Group also discussed about the content of seabird chapter for“State of the Arctic Marine Biodiversity Report” and about the effective activity of CBird to meet with action plans recommended by CAFF. The meeting ended with the dinner organized by Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Government of Faroe Islands.
CBird Group is active in international collaboration, with many countries studying seabirds in the North Atlantic. In contrast, USA is the only country that studies seabirds in the Pacific Arctic area. Seabird research activities of Japan mainly focus on Pacific Arctic area, and can be a valuable contribution to CBird Group to provide circumpolar perspective on Arctic seabird status and its change.
Next CBird Group Annual Meeting will be hosted by UK at Cambridge in March 2018.
Akinori Takahashi (NIPR / A member of Theme 6)
CBird Meeting
Torshavn, viewed from the meeting venue
