Inreased Seal Hunting in Sweden Sparks Outrage – ‘Seals aren’t the Problem’
When this year’s seal hunt begins on Monday, 1,350 gray seals, 200 harbor seals, and 200 ringed seals may be hunted. That is more than last year, and the increased quota has outraged the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, which believes the seal population is at risk in the long term.
The minister in charge, Peter Kullgren (KD), has stated the goal of halving the seal population “as soon as possible,” and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency describes the hunting decisions as “well-balanced” to prevent the damage that seals can cause to fishing gear, catches, and fish stocks.
According to the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, however, it is wrong to blame the seals for the historically low fish stocks in the Baltic Sea, which they argue are instead a result of overfishing, eutrophication, and environmental toxins.
Historically, we’ve had seal populations that were much larger than they are today, and back then we also had large stocks of herring and sprat. It’s not the seals that are the problem, says Ida Carlén, head of the Sea, Water, and Agricultural Landscapes Unit at the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation.
Seals can have a local impact on fishing in, for example, shallow bays in coastal areas, but in that case, the hunt needs to be localized to that area and doesn’t need to be nearly as extensive.
More conflicts
When fish are scarce, the seals come into the coastal areas and take fish from the nets because they can’t find enough food further out at sea.
‘Seal hunting often takes place further out in the archipelago in areas where seals are easy to catch, and not in the vulnerable areas. This can even cause the seals to move from the areas where they are hunted closer to the coast, where there will then be even more conflicts with fishing,’ says Ida Carlén.
According to the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, there is no scientific evidence that seal hunting would help fish stocks recover. On the contrary, studies show that increased hunting could endanger seal populations in the long term.
‘We do not believe one should hunt to reduce the population before knowing what effect it will have on fish stocks,’ says Ida Carlén.
Difficult hunting
The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation also highlights the risk of wounding during seal hunting, which is described as a difficult hunt.
‘It usually takes place from a boat that is never completely stationary, targeting a moving target in the water. You shoot when the seal pokes its head out of the water, and it is a very small target to aim at. Gray seals sink quite quickly after being shot, and only a small proportion are recovered, which means you don’t know if the seal is dead or wounded,’ says Ida Carlén.
