Mack beer and seagull eggs are a well-known term in northern Norway. Gathering seagull eggs was once an important part of the diet of people along the coast. It is no longer particularly important, but the tradition is still maintained. These days, shops all over Northern Norway advertise the eggs. In Bodø, stores such as Coop Mega and Bofisk have posted on Facebook. But not everyone is equally excited that the tradition lives on. – We have come out clearly and said that we do not want seagull eggs to be picked, sold or bought, says Martin Eggen. He is a lofotværing and nature conservation advisor at Birdlife Norway. The opposition is about the sale of gray gull eggs. It has had a major decline in a few years. – All harvesting should have been stopped by the Norwegian Environment Agency, says Martin Eggen, who is a nature conservation advisor at Birdlife. Photo: PRIVAT On the red list Five of the seven nesting gull species we have in mainland Norway are on the red list. Herring gull and black tern are the only two species described as viable. But there has been a significant reduction in the population of blackback along the coast of Troms and Finnmark, according to Artsdatabanken. The stocks in Finland and Sweden are also in marked decline. Last year there were new, stricter rules regarding the collection of seagull eggs. It is now only allowed to pick one egg per nest. Some seagull eggs are still allowed to be collected. But only one egg per nest per season. Photo: Alrik Velsvik / news The eggs of gray gulls and black-backed gulls can be collected all over the country until 10 May – or 25 May for Northern Norway. Herring eggs can be collected throughout southern Norway until 10 May. It is therefore legal to pick the gray gull’s eggs, despite the fact that the species is red-listed and designated as vulnerable by the Norwegian Species Data Bank. That means it is an endangered species. – When the gray gull has become an endangered species in Norway, we must take the red list status seriously, and stop the collection of gull eggs. Nature management is necessary, says Eggen. These are the seagull species A seagull is not just a seagull. These are the seven most common gull species you will find in cities and towns: Hooded gull. Has a black/dark brown “hood” on the head in the summer. Red beak and red legs. Blackback. The largest of the seagulls. Black upper side, slightly pink legs, strong beak. Herring Gull. Reminiscent of blackback, but with yellow legs and smaller bill. Herring gull. Grey, with grey-yellow bill and legs. White wingtips. Crutches. Looks like a herring gull, but has black legs and black wing tips. Gray gull. Grey, with black and white wingtips. Yellow bill with red spot, pink legs. Arctic seagull. Big as black-backed and herring gull. Gray sides, otherwise white. Yellow beak with red spot and pink legs. You can also look at this overview at bymaker.no. – Difficult to see the difference What often happens when the eggs are removed from the nest is that the seagull lays new eggs. It is not unproblematic, he believes. – Laying new eggs all the time has its cost. It requires energy. These are not laying hens that receive concentrated feed. The seagulls are already struggling with food shortages and declining populations. Therefore, they should be left alone during the breeding season. According to Eggen, one of the challenges is that it is difficult to see the difference between the seagull eggs. He also believes that not everyone complies with the new rules. – Companies that are concerned with marketing themselves as sustainable cannot be known for selling eggs from endangered species. GRAY GULL: Seabirds are struggling all over the world. Food shortages, which in turn can be linked to climate change and overfishing, are considered the most important cause. Photo: Knut-Sverre Horn There are also insufficient control mechanisms to ensure that the collection is in accordance with regulations, which state that only one egg should be taken from each nest per season. – When the grebe and herring gull entered the red list, egg collection from the species was stopped. It is natural that we are now stopping egg collection from gray gulls. – Only blackback The fish shop Bofisk in Bodø sells seagull eggs. Managing director Harald Lorentzen says that eating seagull eggs has a long tradition in northern Norway. – Seagulls and humans have always interacted. Traditionally, we have fed seagulls with fish waste, and we have collected their eggs. Nevertheless, the fishmonger experienced some negative comments when they announced on Facebook that they were selling seagull eggs. Eating seagull eggs is a long-standing tradition in northern Norway, says general manager of Bofisk Harald Lorentzen. – The eggs are eaten hard-boiled, and should be boiled for 15–18 minutes. Cut in half and eat as is or on a slice of bread, he says. Photo: Skjermdump 13/05/2023 But he assures that Bofisk only sells eggs from black terns, also known as great seagulls. – It is impossible to be wrong. The seagulls lay eggs at different times, and only the black-backed tern has laid eggs this early in May. That is not right, according to Martin Eggen in Birdlife. – For most people, it is difficult to distinguish eggs from black-backed and gray-backed gulls, and it has also not been common when picking. Gray gulls and black-backed terns breed in mixed colonies, and their eggs are called “great heron eggs”, just as the collective term “great heron” is also used for the two species, says Eggen. The Black-backed Gull is the largest species of gull that breeds in Norway, and we have 24 percent of the total global population. Photo: Bjørnar Hansen Women should not eat seagull eggs There is another reason to be a little skeptical about eating seagull eggs. The eggs contain significant amounts of the environmental toxins PCB and dioxin, according to the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. For women of childbearing age and children, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority will not recommend the consumption of seagull eggs at all. Eating one seagull’s egg a year means increasing the body’s burden of PCBs and dioxins by 10 per cent. Consumption of 10 eggs doubles the total annual intake of PCBs and dioxins, writes Matportalen. – It is very variable. These are substances they acquire via diet, says Tycho Anker-Nilssen, senior researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Natural Sciences (NINA) and adds: – Some people may have a diet that causes them to have a greater environmental burden than others. Coop Mega in Rønvika in Bodø also offers seagull eggs. Coop Norge emphasizes that they are keen to have good collaboration partners. And that they demand that laws and regulations are followed in all contexts. – Coop would like to facilitate local food traditions to live on, and there are long traditions behind both picking and eating seagull eggs, says Knut Lutnæs, who is communications and authority contact at Coop. He says that the sale of seagull eggs is very limited. So far this year, a total of 40 eggs have been purchased for two stores in Nordland. – It is not egg collection that has led to these species being on the red list, says Tycho Anker-Nilssen, senior researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Natural Sciences. Here a gray gull. Photo: Knut Dreiås – Does Coop think it is ethically sound to sell seagull eggs? – Questions about management of seagull populations must be addressed to the environmental authorities. In recent times, not everyone is as careful. Tycho Anker-Nilssen, senior researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Natural Sciences (NINA) is not as skeptical about seagull egg collection: – Taking eggs from a nest is not necessarily a big problem. It is not egg collection that has led to these species being on the red list, he says. However, he is still concerned that people must follow the new rules. – I can’t see that there is a problem if the eggs are collected in line with current laws and regulations, says researcher Tycho Anker-Nilssen. Photo: Kari Skeie / news Like Eggen, he is skeptical about whether everyone is able to comply with them: It is because the attitude and knowledge of those who collect today have changed, he believes. In the past, gatherers were often better at knowing which eggs could be taken when. – They held them up to the light or checked how they flew to know if they had been hatched, he explains. But in recent times, not everyone is as careful, and more eggs are taken from the nests. Anker-Nilssen also believes that some gatherers take the eggs too late in the season, after they have hatched, without checking them before they get home. – It will be the wrong way to do it, and therefore this has now been made clear in the legislation. But ensuring that the legislation is complied with is not the shop’s task, the researcher believes. Spring and summer are a vulnerable time for seagulls across the country. Here is a seagull egg about to hatch. Photo: Jørn Nordli / news – To draw a parallel: if you think a fishery is not sustainable, then I would not go to the store and accuse them of being the problem. The same applies here. – If they are collected in line with the legislation, then there is no problem that it is traded, Anker-Nilssen believes.
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The shops sell seagull eggs from red-listed bird species – news Nordland
