A local seabird biologist is urging immediate action to address the impact of highly pathogenic avian flu on local seabird populations.

The hardest hit locally are the gannet and common murre, known locally as turr, populations.

The species are especially vulnerable because they are long-lived, don’t reach sexual maturity until about five years, form life-long pair bonds for mating purposes, and only lay one egg a year.

Memorial University seabird researcher Dr. Ian Jones says in Europe, the impact on some seabird species has been devastating.

He says the world population of the great skua, which nests in the British Isles and numbers only about 16,000 birds, has been cut by 65 to 85 percent. “That’s serious,” says Jones.

He says greater measures need to be taken to help curb the spread of avian flu, which includes immediate action to eliminate the interaction between industrial birds and wild birds.