A seabird biologist is concerned over the mass death of turrs in the province.

Hundreds of common murres, or turrs, have been found dead or dying on the ice near Hampden, with more and more being reported on the northeast coast to the Northern Peninsula.

Local seabird biologist Dr. Bill Montevecchi says it looks like some mass starvation event associated with sea ice, but he is unsure. Sea ice can force them inshore, meaning they cannot feed as well.

He says his first hypothesis was that the birds were trapped in Hampden, but a man in the community has told him there is lots of open water for turrs to fly out in the bay. He calls this “curious.”

Montevecchi says the “burning question” is what impact will this have on the ecosystem. He says if it is starvation, then they need to find out if it’s the sea ice keeping them from the food, or if there’s any food there to begin with. If the latter is the case, that could signify something is wrong with the food web. As turrs feed on capelin, that could have major impacts on cod, seals, whales, and fishermen.

He asks anyone who finds a dead turr to post it to social media so it can be tracked.