The guga hunters of Ness are considering seeking an increase of their annual harvest after proof of booming populations of gannets off the Scottish coast.
Figures from a new survey published this week suggests the cull of gannet -
Every August a group of men from Ness in Lewis continue the century’s old practice of their ancestors and brave rough seas to sail to the tiny island of Sùlasgeir, 40 miles into the Atlantic, where many thousands of gannets breed.
It is the last remaining wild bird hunt of its kind and the meat is considered a delicacy locally.
Tasty news for the Nisich as guga population soars
20 March 2015
The legal licence required for the harvest has been gradually reduced from around 3,500 birds to 2,000, amid suggestions gannet numbers were decreasing.
Yet, the latest count shows the very opposite -
Gannet numbers have soared by 22% -
It also highlights that existing breeding grounds may be so crowded that the birds are setting up new colonies off Barra and Orkney.
The survey of the rock was carried out to provide an up-
The actual number of birds is greater than the 11,230 nest sites seen occupied by either one or two birds at nestling time in the count. Back in 2004, the figure was 9,225 nests.
The results indicate numbers are rising by 2.2% every breeding season -
Overall, despite the harvest the bird population has been stable for the last 30 years.
Stalwart of the guga hunt, John “Dods” Macfarlane, said there are so many bids on the islet that the hunters no longer have to scale cliffs after them.
Mr Macfarlane said: “I’ve been telling them for years the numbers were rising.
“They wanted scientific evidence -
He highlighted: “There is no reason why our quota cannot increase.
“We know the numbers are rising for the last ten years.
The SNH report highlighted the count does “indicate that numbers of (apparent nest sites) increased over the last nine years despite continued harvesting.”
The report suggested the colony may host an overflow population with seabirds originating from the crowded sites at Sule Stack (off Orkney) and St Kilda.
Indeed, gannet numbers are booming off the Hebrides and north of Scotland.
SNH said the “study of gannets off the northwest coast of Scotland has found the birds’ numbers have increased rapidly over the last decade.”
So squeezed are they for space in traditional breeding grounds that a new colony is emerging on the high cliffs of Berneray in the Bishops Isles, south of Barra, also known as Barra Head.
A new nesting rock at Sule Skerry off Orkney is increasing at 47% per year, albeit from a low base of about 1,800 nests.
On the Flannan Islands, growth is 7.5% with 5,280 nests observed.
Numbers are stable on St Kilda and neighbouring Boreray -