Stellwagen Bank Final EIS and Management Plan 



Page 31 



and Lockley, 1954; Ainley, 1980). Distribution and 

 abundance of seabird species at Stellwagen Bank 

 are related, as they are in other parts of the Gulf of 

 Maine, to the availability of preferred prey (e.g., fish 

 and fish larvae, cephalopods, crustaceans, and offal). 

 Various seabird species are often specialized in 

 their feeding behavior, resulting in little overlap in 

 preferred prey species. This occurs even among 

 closely related species, such as the several species of 

 shearwaters found in the Gulf of Maine region 

 (Powers and Brown, 1987). The high levels of 

 biological productivity at Stellwagen Bank, 

 combined with the presence of fishing vessels, result 

 in a predictable and abundant variety of associated 

 species of both coastal and pelagic seabird species. 



There are ten species groups of marine birds 

 which are generally dominant in the southwestern 

 Gulf of Maine (Table 2). In addition to these 

 species groups, several species of scoters occur in 

 the Stellwagen Bank area, as well as eiders, 

 mergansers, and oldsquaws (Payne and Seltzer, 

 1986). These species include: 



Melanitta deplandi . White-winged scoter (sea duck) 

 M. negri . Black scoter (or sea duck) 

 M. perspicillata . Surf scoter (or sea duck) 

 Somateria molUsima . Red-Breasted merganser 

 Clangula hvemalis . Oldsquaw 



Additional occasionally-seen migratory species 

 include the Sharp shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus t. 

 Osprey (Pandion haliaetus ^. Peregrine falcon (Falco 

 peregrinus ). and Atlantic brant (Branta bernicla 

 hrota). 



With a single exception (Leach's storm petrel, 

 Oceanodroma Jeucorhoa), all seabirds occurring 

 around the Stellwagen Bank area are either 

 migrants or non-breeding residents. In general, 

 spring months are the time of greatest seabird 

 abundance on the Bank. (Powers and Brown, 1987) 



It is possible that some limited hunting for sea 

 duck species (such as oldsquaws, mergansers, 

 scoters, and eiders) may occur within the area of 

 the Sanctuary, pursuant to licenses issued under the 

 Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). However, as 

 most sea duck hunting occurs in sheltered bays or 

 inlets adjacent to land, hunting near the open ocean 



Stellwagen Bank is likely to occur only on an 

 infrequent basis, if at all. (V. Lang, USFWS, pers. 

 comm., June 1991). 



U.S. Fish and WildUfe Service analysis of National 

 Marine Fisheries Service sea sampling data (1989- 

 1990) also indicates that incidental take of sea bird 

 species generally resulting from commercial or 

 recreational fishing activities does not happen 

 frequently, or pose an exploitation threat to any 

 species. (V. Lang, USFWS, pers. comm., June 

 1991). 



Loons - The Common loon (Gavis immer "). and the 

 Red-throated loon (Gavis stellata ) breed in 

 northeastern North America and migrate along the 

 Atlantic seaboard. While Red-throated loons are 

 primarily found in nearshore waters and the western 

 margin of the Gulf of Maine, Common loons 

 additionally cross over Georges Bank during May 

 and November. Loons are pursuit divers, feeding as 

 tertiary carnivores, primarily on fishes, and as 

 secondary carnivores on crustaceans, mollusks, and 

 aquatic insects (Palmer, 1%2). Loons have been 

 recorded frequently offshore during spring and fall 

 migrations. 



Albatrosses - Two species of albatrosses, the 

 Yellow-nosed (Diomedea chlororhynchos ) and the 

 Black-browed (D . melanophris l are considered rare 

 visitors to western North Atlantic waters; at least 

 one yellow-nosed albatross was reported on 

 Georges Bank in 1976 (Powers and Brown, 1987). 



Fulmars - The Northern fulmar (Fulmarus 

 glacialis ). ■ The pelagic distribution of northern 

 fulmars encompasses the North Atlantic; in the 

 Western North Atlantic, fulmars extend as far south 

 as the Mid-Atlantic Bight. As "opportunistic" 

 secondary and tertiary carnivores, fulmars consume 

 a large variety of zooplankton. fish, squid, 

 crustaceans, and offal from fishing vessels. They 

 are found off the New England coast throughout the 

 year, with the exception of August, when they move 

 northward. Peak abundance over the Stellwagen 

 Bank/Georges Bank area is usually from 

 approximately January to April, when flocks of 

 several thousands have been recorded (Powers, 

 1983). 



