Puffins are declining and climate change could become the largest cause

Overfishing, hunting, and pollution are contributing to the decline of the birds – but environmental factors may prove to be the largest concern.

Puffins have been in precipitous decline, especially since the 2000s, both in Iceland and across many of their Atlantic habitats. The potential culprits are many: fickle prey, overfishing, and pollution.

Scientists say that climate change is another underlying factor that is diminishing food supplies and is likely to become more important over time. And the fact that puffins are tasty, and thus hunted as a game in Iceland, hardly helps.

Though some puffin colonies are prospering, in Iceland – where the largest population of Atlantic puffins is found – their numbers have dropped to about 5.4 million individuals from roughly seven million.

Since 2015, the birds have been listed as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, meaning they face a high risk of extinction in the wild.