Since almost four years ago, we have license hunting on gray seals, since two years on harbor seals and protection hunts on ringed seals since several years ago.
We hunt all three seal species along the Swedish coast and there are several reasons.
On the one hand, the small-scale fishermen suffers because some seals destroy the fishing gear and eat the fish in the nets, and also the hunters want a new game to hunt.
But what happens in the ecosystem when you remove an apex predator? When they no longer eat fish, who eat smaller fish who eat even smaller fish who eat zooplankton…
We asked scientists.
Reportage: Lena Scherman
Foto: Hans Berggren, Johan Candert/DSR, Alexandre Gobatti/DSR, Kimmo Hagman/DSR,Göran Ehlmé/DSR, Simon Stanford/DSR, Tobias Dahlin/DSR, Ismaele Tortella
Redigering: Alexandre Gobatti
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When the seal population had collapsed around 1980 and was almost completely extinct, the authorities put an end to all hunting. Seal protection areas were established, and all three species found along our coasts were protected. At the same time, we received EU directives to reduce emissions of DDT and PCBs. It led to the recovery of all three seal tribes….
Reporter: Lena Scherman
Editing: Alexandre Gobatti/Daniel Hager
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0:41
Sweden, Finland, and Norway conduct hunting for seals as trophy hunting. In most other countries, hunting of large marine mammals has been prohibited.
In the USA, they have even banned the import of fish from countries that kill marine mammals to protect their fishing industry.
Sweden doesn’t have much fish to export, so that import ban is unlikely to affect us significantly. However, we hunt a large marine mammal – and that is unique….
Reportage: Daniel Hager/Lena Scherman/Alexandre Gobatti
Explore the dramatic journey of the Baltic Sea’s seals from near extinction to recovery and the debates surrounding their resurgence….
Text: Lena Scherman
Photo: Johan Candert