Nearly 30 thousand grey seals were observed during the annual counting of these marine mammals in 2013. Most of them, more than 10 thousand live in the area of the islands of central Sweden, reported the Marine Station of the Institute of Oceanography at the University of Gdańsk.
More than 4.5 thousand grey seals have been recorded in marine areas belonging to Estonia, in areas of Finland - over 10 thousand, and by far the largest population in Sweden - nearly 14.5 thousand. In total, during the annual seal count in 2013, there was exactly 29 thousand 496 animals were spotted.
"The vast majority of seals (more than 10.5 thousand - PAP) live in the area of the islands of central Sweden, where the largest increase in population is being recorded since the beginning of the century. Large clusters are also found in the waters of the south-western Finland. However, in these areas an increase in the number of animals since the middle of the first decade of the 21st century has not been recorded" - reported the Marine Station of the Institute of Oceanography at the University of Gdańsk.
On the south coast of the Baltic Sea (Germany, Poland , Russia and Lithuania), the animals were exterminated by man even before the effects of environmental pollution could affect them. Today, single animals come to the Polish coast from other parts of the Baltic Sea.
One hundred years ago there were 100,000 grey seals in the Baltic Sea. In the 1980s, there were only 4.5 thousand. Then seals were covered by legal protection. The increasing trend of the Baltic grey seal population has been observed since 2000, when 10 thousand animals were counted in the Baltic Sea.
Counting is carried out mainly from air, sometimes also from land. According to experts from Marine Station of the Institute of Oceanography, University of Gdańsk, to avoid errors and due to the weather conditions, observations are repeated two - three times. The annual count of grey seals in the Baltic Sea was conducted in the spring of 201, during their moulting season, between May 20 and June 2.
Grey Seal – next to common and ringed seal - is one of three species of seals in the Baltic Sea. Males grow up to 3 meters in length , reaching the weight of 300 kg . Females are slightly smaller.
The project to restore these animals on our coast (Support for restoration and conservation of Baltic mammals in Poland) has been carried out for years by the Marine Station of the Institute of Oceanography, University of Gdansk and WWF Polska. Seals are kept in pools with natural sea water. Offspring, after being nourished by the mother and mastering the skill of hunting live fish, is released into the wild in places that guarantee peace and safety of animals.
PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland
ekr/ agt/
tr. RL
