Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1998, Page 161

167
Changes in Faroese Seabird Populations and
Human Impact
Broytingar í føroysku sjófuglastovnunum og menniskjalig ávirkan
Bergur Olsen
Fiskirannsóknarstovan, FO-IOO Tórshavn, Faroe Islands,
Phone: +298 31 85 88, fax +298 31 85 88, e-mail: berguro@frs.fo
Úrtak
Áðrenn fólk komu til Føroyar, vóru sjófuglarnir í javn-
vág eftir teimum livikorum, sum vóru í havinum kring
Føroyar. Síðani tá hevur fólkið gagnnýtt fuglin, og hev-
ur hetta í flestu førum verið gjørt, uttan at tað hevur
ávirkað stovnamar stórvegis. Um 1816 áttu teir fyrstu
havhestarnir í Føroyum. Síðani tá er havhestastovnurin
vaksin, so hann nú er størsti og mest veiddi fuglastovnur
í landinum. Flar rottan er komin, hevur hon verið til stór-
an skaða fyri drunnhvítan, skrápin og lundan, og umráð-
andi er tf, at rottan ikki spjaðist til fleiri oyggjar. Høv-
uðsbroytingamar, ið síggjast í sjófuglastovnunum, em
framvegis náttúrligar, og umráðandi er tí at skilja hesar
broytingar fyri at kunna meta um, hvørja ávirkan menn-
iskjan hevur.
Extended abstract
Before the settlement of the Faroe Islands
the seabird populations have changed in ac-
cordance with environmental variations,
especially the changing productivity of the
sea around the islands. Since then the birds
have been used for food, for their feathers
and also for recreation. At first the birds
nesting on plane ground have been the most
affected while the cliff breeding birds have
been more difficult to reach. It is likely that
sizeable populations of the great auk or the
garefowl formerly occurred at the Faroe Is-
lands and that it was a rare breeding bird by
the late 1700s. This bird was hunted and the
last record believed to be plausible for the
Faroes is 1 July 1808 at Stóra Dímun where
a single bird was claimed to have been
killed. This species was exterminated
sometime between 1844 and 1853.
As the skill of hunting improved the
huge colonies of cliff breeding seabirds
have been exploited and these traditions
have been continuing into this century. In
order not to overexploit the populations, the
fowling has been regulated by a series of
traditionally developed and adopted rules
trying to keep the bird populations on a
steady level while, at the same time, giving
a maximum yield. These rules indicate that
the populations have been rather stable.
Hunting bags for gannets indicate that this
population has been stable or slightly in-
creasing during 300 years. According to the
export of feathers the guillemot and puffín
populations have fluctuated with maxima
in the middle of both the 1700th and 1800lh
centuries. This was also the fact in this cen-
tury, but the decline since then has reached
a lower level than in the previous century.
The cormorant was breeding in the islands
until the middle of this century, but al-
though the population was declining it was
not protected until too late when no breed-
ing birds were left.
Fróðskaparrit 46. bók 1998: 167-168