The ecoregion is an important feeding area for many seabird populations preying on fish and invertebrates. More than 20 species of seabird breed on the coasts of the ecoregion, with numbers generally increasing until the year 2000, followed by a decline. The Greater North Sea is an important wintering area for migratory birds from the north and east. Generally, the number of immigrant seabirds has declined in past years, likely because of milder winters, suggesting that the flocks that used to reach the region in winter remain now closer to their breeding grounds.
The main human threats come from climate change, fishing (including bird bycatch and competition for prey items), disturbance from shipping, and detrimental interactions with offshore renewables (including collisions with wind turbine blades). An outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (possibly deriving from chicken farming) has caused widespread death of seabirds since 2021 – for example a 25–30% reduction in the northern gannet population on the world's largest colony, the Bass Rock.
