EARLY signs of hope for Scotland’s seabirds have been found after two decades of declining numbers, conservationists say.

Mean numbers of 12 species of breeding seabirds fell by almost 40 per cent overall between 1986 and 2014.

The Arctic skua was hit hardest with an 80 per cent drop, while black-legged kittiwakes plummeted by more than 70 per cent.

In December, the Birds of Conservation Concern publication named those birds along with puffins, shags and herring gulls as red-listed species, indicating an increasing level of conservation concern.

However, new research suggests the number of chicks produced by species including the puffin, herring gull and little tern may now be rising.

Northern gannets and common terns were also up on the 1986-2013 average.

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) said it was too early to draw firm conclusions from the data collected in its latest seabird indicator.

However, it is hoped that the trend will continue and slow the declines in population, or even reverse them for some birds.

Marine ornithologist Glen Tyler said: “We’re hopeful that the success of puffins and some other seabirds in certain areas of Scotland means their fortunes are looking up, but it’s really too early to say for sure.

“There’s continued work to combat some of the pressures on seabirds – for example, by controlling non-native predators.”

Scotland’s breeding seabirds are of international importance, with 95 per cent of the EU’s great skuas, almost 70 per cent of its northern gannets and more breeding on the country’s coastline.

The Bass Rock, voted nature reserve of the year, is home to more than 150,000 in peak season.

The offshore site, dubbed “seabird city”, is also used by shags, guillemots and razorbills.

Declines in seabird populations in the past 20 years are said to have been caused in part by climate change and poor management of the marine environment.

The Scottish Government’s Marine Bill aims to improve conservation to protect vital habitats and ecologists hope this will build on last year’s small improvements.

The Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) on the Isle of May found 2015 was above average for all the species it studies, with kittiwakes and shags showing the biggest increases.

This was the second consecutive year of high breeding success for kittiwakes after a number of poor years.

Mark Newell of CEH said a dip in temperatures may have helped produce more of the small fish many birds depend on as their main source of food.

He said: “The last few winters have seen a return to slightly cooler winter sea temperatures in the North Sea which is thought to have been beneficial to the development of sand eels, the preferred prey of many of the seabirds.

“These are encouraging signs as shown by the improved breeding success in the last few years on the Isle of May.”

The seabird indicator was prepared using data from the Seabird Monitoring Programme, a partnership project led and co-ordinated by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) and involving a range of conservation partners.

Alex Kinninmonth, head of marine policy at RSPB Scotland, said: “These latest figures show the real value in dedicated monitoring of seabird populations in Scotland, and certainly contain promising news for species including kittiwake and Arctic tern.

“However, this glimmer of hope is set against a backdrop of severe and long-term population declines of up to 90 per cent in some places.

“If the downward trend is to have any chance of being reversed, there needs to be a concerted effort to ensure there are safe places on land for seabirds to nest and the areas at sea that are critical for seabird survival are protected.”