Mismatches between the current marine Natura 2000 network and seabird distributions call for enhanced protected areas off metropolitan France

Again, their identification in this study as seabird hotspots outside the French Natura 2000 network of SPAs gave confidence to confirm the existence of remaining gaps in the network. This national example illustrated the challenge of establishing a coherent, complete and functional ecological network for seabirds at the pan-European level. While additional marine data are being collected, the SPA network still needs scientific progress to be completed and to meet its conservation objectives. Continuing pressures on marine ecosystems make this imperative.