Yelkouan Shearwater Project

The EU LIFE Yelkouan Shearwater Project (2006-2010) was a partnership of government authorities and conservation organisations. The partners contributed their time and expertise and the project was 50% part funded by the European Union LIFE Nature fund. HSBC and MEPA also contributed. This partnership approach was an innovative and positive way of working in wildlife conservation in the Maltese Islands.

Malta is very important for Yelkouan Shearwaters (Puffinus yelkouan). An estimated 1,500 pairs are known to breed here, which equals approximately 10% of the world’s Yelkouan Shearwater population.

The partnership aimed to work together to reverse population declines and reduce future threats to the birds. The overall aim of the project was to create the right conditions at the project site and beyond in order to attract breeding pairs and ensure they could raise their chicks successfully.

You can find out more about our ongoing efforts to conserve the Yelkouan Shearwater populations in Malta through our ongoing LIFE Arċipelagu Garnija project.

Project reports

Read more about the Yelkouan Shearwater project in the reports below, in both Maltese and English.

LIFE06NATMT000097 Layman's Report MT-01Yelkouan Shearwater Project Layman’s report EN - front cover image