Open Government Licence (OGL)

In response to local declines in seal numbers, the Scottish Government introduced conservation orders under the Conservation of Seals Act 1970 to provide additional protection on a precautionary basis for vulnerable local populations of seals.

The Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 introduces provisions for existing orders to continue, and for new ones to be introduced administratively as Seal Conservation Areas.

Seal haul-out sites are designated under section 117 of Marine (Scotland) Act 2010. Seal haul-outs are locations on land where seals come ashore to rest, moult or breed and Marine Scotland has been working closely with the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) (on behalf of NERC) to identify suitable sites. Harassing a seal (intentionally or recklessly) at a haul-out site is an offence. “Haul-out site” means any place which the Scottish Ministers, after consulting the Natural Environment Research Council, by order designate as such for the purposes of this section.

This layer shows the 194 seal haul-out sites in Scotland.

The 194 seal haul-out sites and grey seal breeding colonies were selected using a methodology developed by the NERC Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St Andrews (description of methodology can be found at http://www.smru.st-andrews.ac.uk/files/2015/10/1741.pdf).

On 31 January 2011, Part 6 of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 came into force. Part 6 seeks to balance seal conservation with sustainable fisheries and aquaculture and its introduction means: It is an offence to kill or injure a seal except under licence or for welfare reasons, outlawing unregulated seal shooting that was permitted under previous legislation A number of seal conservation areas around Scotland will begin to be introduced, designed to protect vulnerable, declining common seal populations A new seal licensing system, providing a well regulated and monitored context for seal management in Scotland has been introduced. Seal Management Areas are: East Coast, Moray Firth, Orkney and North Coast, Shetland, South West Scotland, West Scotland, Western Isles.

Grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) are present around the coast of Scotland in internationally import numbers. They breed on wave-exposed rocky coasts, sometimes on sand or shingle beaches at the foot of cliffs, often on relatively remote islands, with large groups of pregnant females returning to traditional breeding sites in the autumn. This data shows the breeding colonies currently listed with Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU).