Background Audouin's Gull (Larus audouinii) is a native Mediterranean bird and until recently has been one of the most endangered gull species in Europe. Ninety percent of the world's population of this species breeds in Europe, with migratory movements in winter towards the south, mainly along the Atlantic coast of Africa. A range of threats affect the Audouin's Gull's conservation status in Europe, including: the concentration of its populations in a few sites; its dependence on fish waste from a fluctuating fishing fleet; competition with the yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis); direct predation by other vertebrates; and lack of public awareness about this species. Objectives A LIFE-Nature project was approved to help improve the conservation status of Audouin's Gull in Europe which focussed LIFE support on two small island SPAs on the east coast of Spain (Benidorm and the Columbretes islands), both which were identified as priority habitat sites for the Gulls. The project objective was to increase the population of Audouin's Gulls in the Columbretes islands and to establish a breeding colony on the islet of Benidorm. It aimed to build on the success of a previous project LIFE98 NAT/E/005300: ‘Conservation of island SPAs in the Valencian region’. Activities carried out in the new LIFE project included: placing decoys and artificial nests to promote breeding and improvements to the species' habitat; a programme of captive breeding and targeted release work led to a total of 176 chicks being released in the wild (102 on Benidorm and 74 in the Columbretes); other birds bred from captivity were introduced to provoke breeding instincts of wild Gulls; and a widespread public information campaign was implemented to improve the species’ profile. All these LIFE actions were delivered within the framework of a new Recuperation and Viability Plan for the Audouin's Gull. Results Results from the LIFE project have been positive with important improvements noted in the Audouin Gull colonies in Valencian Region. The colony of Columbretes was stable at the end of the project in 2006 with 20-29 pairs. Several couples tried breeding near the hacking area in Benidorm during 2005 and 2006 but predators prevented chicks from being born. Two new colonies were established during the LIFE project in La Mata-Torrevieja and s’Albufera SPA. Many of the chicks that were introduced from the breeding programme have returned to the colonies where they were released and more are expected to do so in the future. The project has achieved most of its expected results and the Audouin Gull colonies in the Valencian Region have risen significantly since the project’s start date in 2003. This reflects the overall good shape of the Audouin Gull population in the Mediterranean and also shows that good site management (mainly control of Yellow-legged Gull and avoidance of disturbances to the colonies during breeding periods) allows natural recovery of the colonies. In fact, the Valencia region is now attracting Gulls from Cataluña and Murcia. Other important results achieved include the approval of the Recovery Plan for the species and the drafting and implementation of an Action Plan for seabirds in the Valencia Region. The project had intended to design a prototype fishing technique for the local fishing industry to help avoid accidental Gull captures in long-line fishing. However, this action still needs further development and the project concluded that economic incentives would be required to motivate any changes in the traditional methods used for fishing.