Abstract
The Gannet is a visitor to the area of the isle of Helgoland. As a ‘plunge-diver’ it is endangered by drifting plastic-debris and ‘ghost-nets’. Of 23 Gannets found dead on Helgoland beaches between 1976 and 1985, 3 (=13%) were entangled in net fragments. Over the same period 5 other specimens entangled in fishing gear were found alive and set free. Without human assistance these animals would have died within a few days. If these birds are added to the dead victims, then 29% of the observed mortality was caused by plastic-debris and fishing gear.
In 1984 and 1985 313 observtions of Gannets were registered in the area of Helgoland, including 8 records (=2.6%) of flying birds entangled in fragments of fishing gear. Multiple countings of the same individuals in the total of 313 observations makes the percentage of living Gannets entangled in fragments of fishing gear definitely higher than 2.6%.