The Seal Deal

People enjoying Grey Selas on Staple Island

On the up....

Mother and pup

Tuesday 21st January comments: As the dust starts to settle on another Seal season, final counts are starting to filter though and it appears the English east coast colonies have had a bumper year. On the Farne Islands, a total of 1,575 pups were born, showing a very slight decrease on the previous year (when 1,603 were born).

However it’s a different story further south, as Donna Nook (Lincolnshire) have reported record numbers with 1,670 born during the autumn. A similar story is unfolding in Norfolk where Seals only bred for the first time in 1993, but now Blakeney Point recorded a record number born; 1,565 last autumn.

The UK boasts approximately 45% of the world population of Grey Seals and it’s certainly a bumper time for them in the North Sea although with numbers either stable or dwindling elsewhere (in northern and western Scotland) it remains a complex picture to piece together.

England’s three main Grey Seal colonies (pup production):

Donna Nook (Lincolnshire) 1,670

Farne Islands (Northumberland) 1,5,75

Blackeney Point (Norfolk) 1,565