The Greater Shearwater (Puffinus gravis) has been identified as a species in need of conservation due to apparent population declines in North America and limited breeding distribution in a few remote islands of the South Atlantic. They are trans-equatorial migrants, breeding in the Southern Hemisphere at Tristan da Cunha Islands, Gough Island, and the Falkland Islands, and migrating long distances to "winter" on cold pelagic waters of the western North Atlantic during Northern Hemisphere spring and summers. In North America, they are found scattered on continental shelf waters from north Florida to Newfoundland, but sometimes concentrate at feeding hot spots off New England's coast. In the 1980s, regional abundance on waters off the northeast coast of North America was estimated at 1.5 - 2 million birds, however, shearwaters are difficult to count as non-breeders may wander the entire Atlantic Ocean. At sea, the biggest potential threats are accidental bycatch in long-line fisheries gear and accumulation of oil contaminants from oil spills and leaks. Introduced predators, such as mice, pose the greatest threat to this species at the breeding grounds.

Date: September 2010

Sources:
Lee, D. 2009. Mass die-offs of Greater Shearwaters in the western North Atlantic: effects of weather patterns on mortality of a trans-equatorial migrant. The Chat 73(2): 37-47.

Mid-Atlantic/New England/Maritimes Regional Working Group of Waterbird Conservation for the Americas. 2006. Waterbird Conservation Plan: 2006-2010 (Draft). Retrieved September 2010 from http://www.waterbirdconservation.org/manem.html.

National Audubon Society. 2007. The 2007 Audubon WatchList: Greater Shearwater. Retrieved September 2010 from http://web1.audubon.org/science/species/watchlist/profile.php?speciesCode=greshe.