The EU LIFE Yelkouan Shearwater Project will be launched in Malta tomorrow and is the largest conservation initiative of its kind here.

This high profile project is a partnership of government authorities and conservation organisations, part funded by the European Union. This combination of government bodies with BirdLife Malta, RSPB and SPEA (BirdLife Portugal) is an innovative and positive way of working on wildlife conservation in the Maltese Islands

The Maltese Islands are very important for Yelkouan Shearwaters (Puffinus yelkouan). An estimated 1,500 pairs are known to breed here, which equals approximately 10 per cent of the world’s population. A third of these breed at the project site, Rdum tal-Madonna, in the north of Malta.

The aim of the project is to secure the future for Yelkouan Shearwaters in Malta and the Mediterranean. The initiative also aims to improve the Rdum tal-Madonna site (a Special Protection Area and a Special Area of Conservation) for visitors from abroad and locals.

The project will carry out satellite tracking and data logging research to find out where these birds actually go after the breeding season in the Maltese Islands. This will provide new scientific data (currently very limited) on the birds’ movements and behaviour including how deep they can dive, whether they stay close to Malta and how far they travel. The project will use this data to create the first Marine Special Protection Area in Malta, setting an example for other countries in the Mediterranean region.

The first protected area management plan, which is also being created for Malta, will act as a blueprint for all other internationally important sites.