Seals - SMRU coordinated summer counts/distribution of Grey seals and Harbour seals (2011 to 2015)

What is it: 

There is an ongoing programme of summer, harbour seal moult surveys of the Scottish coast where in addition grey seal presence is recorded, commissioned by Scottish Natural Heritage in collaboration with the Sea Mammal Research Unit at the University of St Andrews.

There are two layers displayed:

  1. Seals - SMRU coordinated summer counts of Harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) in period 2011 to 2015 (SNH WMS)
  2. Seals - SMRU coordinated summer counts/distribution of Grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) in period 2011 to 2015 (SNH WMS)

Surveys of harbour and grey seals are carried out annually in August.  By surveying a different area each year, over a 5 year period the whole area of interest is surveyed.  The August 2015 survey completed the last round Scotland survey.

Links to Scotland's Marine Atlas: 
Chapter 4: Seals
Data originators: 
Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU)
This information page is part of the theme: 
Seals
SMRU coordianted summer counts of Harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) in period 2011 to 2015 © SMRU / Marine Scotland
More Information: 

The Shetland survey was the first in six years, and the number of harbour seals counted in 2015 (3,369 seals) differed little from 2009 (3,039 seals).

In south-west Scotland, harbour seals have increased in number since they were last counted. In 2014 and 2015, 7,645 seals were recorded, compared with 5,930 seals in 2007 and 2009. This scale of increase has been observed in harbour seal populations all along the west coast of Scotland.

Numbers on the east coast remain very depressed. Only 60 harbour seals were counted in the Firth of Tay – around 10% of the number recorded in 1997. The 2015 survey counted 745 seals in the Moray Firth. Though this was very similar to the figure recorded in 2007 and 2009 (776 seals), it was just over half the 1997 figure (1,409 seals).

Grey seals were counted at the same time. Their numbers across the survey locations varied hugely, but the figures do show the distribution of grey seals around the coast at this time of the year.  Biannual grey seal pup surveys are also carried out at a small number of key breeding sites in October to December.

This page was last modified on : 
Thursday, October 3, 2019 - 11:04

Links and Resources

Type Link Titlesort descending External Link
Reports, Web link SNH Commissioned Report 572: Surveys of harbour (common) and grey seals in Orkney, the north coast of Scotland, the Moray Firth and the Firth of Tay in August 2012 www.nls.uk
Reports, Web link SNH Commissioned Report 759: Surveys of harbour (common) and grey seals on the east, north and north-west coast of Scotland and in Orkney, including the Moray Firth and the Firth of Tay, in August 2013 www.nls.uk
Reports, Web link SNH Commissioned Report 869: Surveys of harbour and grey seals on the west coast of Scotland (Ullapool to Scarba), in the Moray Firth and in the Firth of Tay, in August 2014 www.nature.scot
Reports, Web link SNH Commissioned Report 929: Surveys of harbour and grey seals on the south-east (border to Aberlady Bay) and south-west (Sound of Jura to Solway Firth) coasts of Scotland, in Shetland, in the Moray Firth and in the Firth of Tay in August 2015 www.nature.scot
Type Title External link
Web link Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) www.smru.st-andrews.ac.uk