3.4.3. Fowling

Seabirds and seabird eggs were a significant supplement to the traditional Faroese diet, particularly on islands that had bird cliffs and were so-called birdplaces known as *fuglapláss* in Faroese. The species that were harvested were most commonly Atlantic puffin (*Fratercula arctica grabae*) and common guillemot (*Uria aalge*). However, numbers have declined drastically. It is believed that the numbers of guillemot on the island of Skúvoy were as many as two million in the 1950s. Today, it is estimated that only around 180,000 guillemot nest in all of the Faroe Islands. The reasons for the decline are debated, but local communities have, in some cases, significantly reduced or totally banned harvesting of some

seabird species. The most commonly harvested seabird today in the Faroes is the northern fulmar (*Fulmarus glacialis*). Fulmar eggs are harvested on the bird cli ffs on some islands, and this harvest is regulated through the traditional land managemen<sup>t</sup> system. As the young fulmars leave the bird cli ffs in autumn for the first time and are not ye<sup>t</sup> able to fly, they can be more or less picked out of the sea from a boat. Since the young fulmars are at sea, they have entered the commons and the catch is not regulated. No reliable statistics are available, but an estimate of total seabird catch in 2007 (including fulmar, pu ffin, guillemot, northern gannet, and more) was approximately 140,000 birds [79]. If every bird provided on average half a kg of food, the total contribution would be 70 tons or 1.4 kg per capita.
