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Seals, Luv em or Hate em?
With salmon getting a reprieve from netting, Gs looming and climate change on going does Salmo salar need to face predation from a resurgent seal population?
In 1984 there were approximately 45,000 seals in UK waters, in 2002 it was estimated that there were over 100,000 seals while today figures of 150,000 are being mooted. Can fish stocks survive with the level of predation that such a large population of seals can bring to bear?
Adult seals average 2.45 metres and weigh 310kgs. They feed mostly on sand eels but they also feed on cod. Estimates are are that seals consume 69,000 tonnes of sand eels and 8,000 tonnes of cod although in recent years it has been noticed that the diet of seals is turning towards haddock and plaice. Salmon are not significant in the diet of the wider seal population.
Recent statistics suggest that the perceived problem is less significant than fishing and angling interests make out. Of the core food species seal predation accounts for only 3.07% of available fish stock in UK waters. In the case of cod this does not suggest that seals are contributing greatly to the decline in stock levels of this species. So are seals a danger to our precarious salmon?
Rhona Brankin, Deputy Environment Minister has made it clear there needs to be more research carried out on the impact of seal predation on fish stocks. Calls for a seal cull have come to nothing, it would be criminal to initiate a cull of seals if in the end other factors are found to be the root cause.
Climate change and factory fishing must be a factor on the decline of the prey species of both seals and salmon. Certainly the recent decline in the survival of sea bird chicks and the decline in the number and condition of sea trout and grilse suggests there is more to the equation. Sand eels figure strongly in the diet of all of the species mentioned. We know that sand eel populations are suffering from heavy industrial fishing and it would not be a surprise for seals to diversify in their feeding habits as a consequence.
Grey seals are off course protected by the same European Habitat Directive that ultimately defeated the drift netters of Ireland. It would be churlish of anglers to complain about the protection this Directive brings to the much loved seal population of our shores. UK waters are home to 40% of the world population of grey seals which means that the world wide populations is not vast.
As much as 50% of all salmon caught in drift nets are damaged by seals, who can blame them for taking an easy meal. Other instances often quoted of seals caught in the act include estuarine predation and predation in rivers. Does this obvious predation really represent the extent of seal consumption of salmon at sea? Too many questions remain unanswered for a knee jerk reaction to predation to be justified.
Anglers have to face the fact that there needs to be an accommodation between our interests and those of the seals and the people who care for seals with as much passion as we have for the object of our sport.
The jury is out on the seal issue, lets hope it is not out for too long. We need an answers sooner rather than later as figures from Scottish Natural Heritage suggest that the seal population is growing at 5.6% per annum representing a considerable annual increase in the consumption of precarious fish stock.
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