porpoises and seals

[g-force]

There was actually a Seal on the free stretch at Durham last year,thats 12 mile from the sea.
We now have the largest colony of Grey Seals in the world around our shores.In 2000 there was estimated to be 130,000,no doubt there will be a lot more now.
Just imagine how many fish and other sea life they are eating.
And everyone blames commercial boats for the lack of fish around our shores.

Its about time the powers that be should be thinking about a cull......

I was doing a bit of reading up on seals a few weeks ago, the last pup-count in 2008 in the north sea was about 45,000 - apparently figures for the total population are hard to come by but allowing for adolescents plus the breeding adults, 150,000 or so is probably not far away. There are periods when they don't feed, especially around breeding time, but it is estimated that the best average figure for food, per seal per day, is around 5kg of sand eel or 7kg of fish. So thats between 750,000 & 1,050,000 kg of sand eel / fish every day - an average of maybe 900 or so metric tonnes every day, or 328,500 tonnes or so every year. I'm not sure how this stacks up against what the boats are taking, but the seals obviously stick a lot closer to the shore & don't travel as far afield as the commercial fleet.

Gary

 

[Bushwhacker]

it took years to get salmon using the tees again. lots of time and effort at great cost to clean up the river and create a ladder for them.

the seals now wait at the bottom of the ladder and pick off any salmon waiting to go up.

we have more seals now living in the tees estury than there ever was. i,m realy supprised that someone hasnt decided to have a cull.

Your right there Bill.
I have stood and watched them at the barrage,sometimes there can be 20 of them eating every fish that comes up.
Just becuase there,s a ladder there doesn,t mean the Salmon will go up it when the river is low,they like some flood water to run.
So its easy food for the Seals.

 

[Bushwhacker]

I was doing a bit of reading up on seals a few weeks ago, the last pup-count in 2008 in the north sea was about 45,000 - apparently figures for the total population are hard to come by but allowing for adolescents plus the breeding adults, 150,000 or so is probably not far away. There are periods when they don't feed, especially around breeding time, but it is estimated that the best average figure for food, per seal per day, is around 5kg of sand eel or 7kg of fish. So thats between 750,000 & 1,050,000 kg of sand eel / fish every day - an average of maybe 900 or so metric tonnes every day, or 328,500 tonnes or so every year. I'm not sure how this stacks up against what the boats are taking, but the seals obviously stick a lot closer to the shore & don't travel as far afield as the commercial fleet.

Gary

Some of the big Bulls have been seen down to 100 meters around the rigs eating big Conger,thats a canny way offshore.
Have a look at this.

Grey seal (eastern Atlantic population) videos, photos and facts - Halichoerus grypus - ARKive