France's Bay of Biscay coastline gives access to some of the most underexplored Atlantic pelagic waters in Europe. The Gulf of Gascony — the deep, semi-enclosed bay bounded by the Atlantic coasts of southwestern France and northern Spain — sits at the junction of the warm North Atlantic Drift and cooler shelf waters, generating productive frontal systems that concentrate seabirds on their autumn migration south. The narrow continental shelf off the French Basque Country makes genuinely offshore, deep water accessible within a short sailing time from Saint-Jean-de-Luz, the primary departure point for pelagic trips. Autumn passage brings large numbers of Cory's, Great, Sooty, Balearic, and Manx Shearwaters through the Gulf, alongside Wilson's Storm-Petrel, Great, Pomarine, and Arctic Skuas, Sabine's Gull, and Grey Phalarope. The Critically Endangered Balearic Shearwater — with a global population of fewer than 20,000 birds — uses the Gulf of Gascony as an important post-breeding foraging and dispersal ground.
LPO Aquitaine