Great Skua (Stercorarius skua), representing one of six pelagic surface species within the scope of the project, are being instrumented with GLS and GPS loggers at 7 SEATRACK localities.
The Great Skua was added as a SEATRACK species in phase 3 of the programme. The first GLS loggers were deployed in 2023.
The status of the great skua population is not well known but believed to be stable and therefore, this species is classified as “least concern” by the IUCN.
The great skua is a marine species with a breeding distribution in the northeastern parts of the North Atlantic including Iceland, Norway, Svalbard, Faroe Island and Scotland. Here they breed along the
coast, preferably close to a bird cliff or gull colony.
The great skua is a large brown bird with relatively short wings and a hooked bill. They are opportunistic feeders and are also known to use fishery discards as a food source. In some colonies, individuals have shown a specialisation in diet, i.e. on Bjørnøya some individuals feed on a mixture of fish and seabirds, especially black-legged kittiwakes and northern fulmars.
Featured image: Tycho Anker-Nilssen.
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