PUFFIN POPULATION

Early day motion 1762, tabled 11 June 2008 by John Barrett (Liberal Democrat). Signed by 40 members.

That this House notes with alarm that puffin numbers in the North Sea are in sharp decline with colonies on the Isle of May in the Firth of Forth falling by nearly a third this year after decades of continual population increases; believes that puffins represent a vital element of UK marine life; recognises that due to puffins' broad spread across the North Sea and their varied diet, any decline in puffin numbers is indicative of broader ecological concerns across the North Sea; further notes that scientists have highlighted warming seas, changes and shifts in puffin food supplies, and intensive fishing across the North Sea as all contributing to the current declining numbers; and calls on the Government to work with local and national ecological groups to safeguard the future of the puffin and to bring forward a Marine Bill to urgently protect the UK's coastline.

Signatures by party: Labour 21, Liberal Democrat 15, Conservative 3, UKIP 1.