Seal haul-out sites

The Protection of Seals (Designated Sea Haul-out Sites) (Scotland) Order 2014 introduced additional protection for seals at 194 designated haul-out sites: locations on land where seals come ashore to rest, moult or breed.

The 194 sites were selected using a methodology developed by Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) based on patterns of seal usage over recent years as recorded by aerial surveys.

The spatial data layer includes a field “seal_sp”, which records the seal species mostly using the site at the time of designation (source: SMRU). Please note however, that all species of seal are protected within each of the designated haul-out sites.