Plans submitted to build kilometre-long barrier near Plémont to protect puffins

An example of what the barrier would look like was temporarily erected last year. Credit: ITV Channel

Plans have been submitted for a one kilometre long barrier near Plémont in Jersey that would offer better protection for puffins and other endangered birds.

It would work by preventing attacks from ferrets and other non-native predators.

The initial proposal was for the barrier to be three kilometres long, but the length was reduced after people's concerns were taken into account.

The island's puffin numbers have plummeted - there were a few hundred just a century ago but now there are just six remaining.

As a result, Cris Sellares from the Birds on the Edge Partnership said "it is quite critical that we do something straightaway".

On the impact the barrier would have, she said: ""We hope that in 10 years time or 15 years time, we will have seen a stop in extinctions, and that the populations will be stable, or that even some of them could increase.

"We will also see new species of seabirds colonizing this area from our neighbouring islands."

The barrier would be one kilometre long and prevent non-native predators from attacking endangered birds. Credit: ITV Channel

If this project gets the green light, it would be the first of its kind in Europe, although similar ones have been completed in places further afield like New Zealand.

Biz Bell from Wildlife Management International, an ecological consultancy company based in the country, said they have been a success for both the environment and tourism.

"Sanctuaries in New Zealand have thousands of visitors specifically because they can then see endangered or special species where before they could not see them because they are hidden on offshore islands and protected much more.

"But now they can actually walk around and watch these species and interact with them because they can get that close to them."

The proposed barrier in Jersey is modelled on the ones used in New Zealand - standing at around 2m tall, it would be located 50m from the cliff path.

The top of it would be curved so it could not be mounted by predators, and its foundations would stop animals who can burrow.

Islanders are encouraged to get involved with the project and give feedback to the planning application.

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