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VKM: Exporting Up to 26 Osprey Young to Ireland Would Not Harm Conservation Status in Norway

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) flying with a fish
Conservation · Reintroductions & translocations

Exporting up to 26 wild young ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) from Norway to Ireland would not harm the species’ conservation status in Norway if the proposed safeguards are followed, according to a non-detriment finding published by the Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment (VKM) on 22 June 2026. The assessment concerns year four of Ireland’s planned five-year osprey reintroduction programme.

Collection is limited by region and nest size

The proposal allows up to 16 young to be collected in Trøndelag and up to ten in Akershus and Østfold. Each donor area is estimated to hold about 35 breeding pairs, and VKM found no indication that either local population is declining. Young may be taken only from nests containing two or three young, with at least one live young remaining in every nest.

VKM also considered the wider population context. Norway is estimated to hold about 400–600 breeding pairs, while Sweden has roughly 2,700–4,200 breeding pairs. The Norwegian donor populations are part of this larger, continuous Norwegian–Swedish population, and this wider population context formed part of VKM’s assessment of whether the proposed collection would be detrimental.

The Irish programme is still too young to judge breeding establishment

The birds are intended for Ireland’s osprey reintroduction programme, coordinated by the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) in collaboration with Ireland’s National Parks and Wildlife Service. The programme began in 2023 with the aim of restoring osprey as a breeding species after a long absence.

Available data cited by VKM indicate high survival of released birds in Ireland and through migration, with all tracked individuals reaching West Africa. However, survival after arrival in Africa, return rates to Ireland and eventual breeding establishment remain unknown because the programme has not yet run long enough for released birds to complete the full cycle back to Ireland.

A non-detriment finding is the scientific assessment required under CITES to determine whether an export from the wild is sustainable and compatible with the species’ conservation status. VKM’s positive conclusion therefore provides the scientific basis for an export decision; it is not itself an export permit or evidence that the 26 young have already been collected.

Sources and image credit

  1. VKM, Eldegard, K., Hermansen, J. S., Mauvisseau, Q., Rueness, E. K., Star, B., & de Boer, H. J. (2026). Non-detriment finding for osprey (Pandion haliaetus). VKM Bulletin 2026:15. Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment (VKM).Primary scientific non-detriment finding published 22 June 2026. It concludes that export of a maximum of 26 live wild-sourced young ospreys from Norway to Ireland will not be detrimental under the specified regional and nest-level safeguards.
  2. Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. (2023, May 23). Return flight for the Osprey as National Parks and Wildlife Service prepares to reintroduce bird to Ireland this summer.Official background on the Irish osprey reintroduction programme.

Image: Bengt Nyman / Wikimedia Commons — osprey (Pandion haliaetus) carrying a fish at Vaxholm, Stockholm, Sweden, 5 June 2015; representative species image; CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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