Specialist Committee on Seabirds and Plastic Pollution

About Us

We are a group of international seabird researchers collaborating on research regarding seabird plastic ingestion. We represent world experts on the issue from several regions of the globe. We are members of at least 3 WSU member organizations, and in 2018 established a Special Committee under the umbrella of the World Seabird Union. To find out who we are, visit our Plastics Working Group Members page.

This working group was established to foster a community of practice for researchers studying plastic pollution and seabirds. This is not exclusive to plastic ingestion, although that is the primary focus of the work currently underway.

Our aims are

  1. As a working group, publish peer-reviewed papers that standardize and guide research aiming to understand the impacts of plastic pollution on seabirds. To learn about the products of this specialist committee, and projects underway, check out the plastics working group legacy products

  2. Provide a central base for knowledge exchange. In the future this will involve a mailing list, in the meantime please see our recommended list of key papers.

Keywords: standardisation, knowledge sharing, public awareness, plastic pollution, plastic ingestion, horizon scanning