Tuesday, 21st July 2009
New report shows true extent of seal damage
The myth that Scotland’s burgeoning seal population has little or no impact on dwindling fish stocks, has been blown out of the water by a new scientific report says Scots Tory MEP, Struan Stevenson.
The International Convention for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), the main scientific body advising the European Commission, admits in a new study that “Grey seal abundance has increased from 32,000 to 40,000 (in the) west of Scotland over recent decades. Seals are known to feed on cod, amongst other species, and the mortality of cod due to seal predation is likely to be significant. This may impair the ability of the cod stock to recover.”
In the North Sea, the grey seal population has been allowed to grow to around 200,000. Each individual seal will eat approximately 2 tonnes of fish a year, resulting in 400,000 tonnes of fish, including cod, being wiped out annually by the un-checked seal population.
Welcoming the ICES report, Struan Stevenson, Senior Vice President of the European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee, said:
“I am delighted that a key scientific report has at last confirmed what fishermen have been saying for years. It was always the fishermen themselves who were blamed for over-fishing cod stocks, but now we can see that the growing seal population is having a major impact and could prevent any attempts at cod recovery, even if all fishing was banned.
“For far too long the European Commission has refused to listen to our fishermen when they blamed seals for killing our cod stocks. It was not deemed to be politically correct to mention seals in Brussels. But now the truth has been revealed.
“The situation is critical in the west of Scotland but it is even worse in the North Sea. The grey seal population in Scottish waters is now at a record high and is no longer ecologically sustainable. The Scottish government and the European Commission can no longer afford to shy away from this problem. A solution will have to be found to protect our fish stocks and the future of our fishing communities.”
