The BirdLife Seabird Tracking Database: 20 years of collaboration for marine conservation

Abstract

The BirdLife Seabird Tracking Database (STDB) was established in 2004 to collate tracking data to address the incidental mortality of seabirds in fisheries and to contribute to identification of sites at sea relevant to establishment of Marine Protected Areas. After 20 years, the STDB has grown to hold ca. 39 million locations for 168 species from >450 breeding sites. The STDB has become a powerful tool to support marine conservation by facilitating the compilation of robust multi-species data to address broad-scale questions, made possible by continuous collaboration with the scientific community. The STDB has facilitated major marine conservation outcomes, including the designation of the first marine protected area to be identified solely using tracking data. Advocacy based on analyses demonstrating overlaps between seabirds and fisheries have led to the adoption of seabird-bycatch mitigation measures by Regional Fisheries Management Organizations. The STDB has also provided compelling evidence for migratory connectivity in the ocean, and been crucial in informing many policy instruments at scales from national (e.g. protection and management of important sites identified from tracking data), to regional (e.g. working with Regional Conventions), to global (e.g. the identification of Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas). This review presents an overview of 1) how the STDB started and gained traction, 2) its current status in terms of data coverage and gaps, 3) methodological developments, 4) conservation successes, 5) the opportunities and challenges experienced in managing this global database, and 6) research priorities and future directions for seabird tracking studies.