Quinlan Brothers in Bay de Verde is making a difference in helping reduce the number of Leach’s storm petrels killed by being attracted to the shoreline.

Dr. Bill Montevecchi says the most abundant breeding seabird in Newfoundland has seen its numbers drop by 50 per cent over the last 30 years. That’s equivalent to about 3 to 4 million birds of that species alone.

Lights from buildings and vehicles on the shoreline confuse the birds, causing them to fly toward land rather than out to sea. Once they end up on land, they cannot take off again making them prone to predation and car strikes.

Montevecchi says one area that was seeing a real problem with storm petrels was the new fish plant in Bay de Verde.

He approached Barry Hatch, the manager, and the company has agreed to keep the lights off at night. They turn them back on when a boat comes in to offload their catch, but otherwise, the lights are out.

Quinlan’s even went a step further and have asked boats to keep they’re lights off until they’re clear of Baccalieu Island, one of the largest storm petrel colonies in the province.