Review of the operation of the seal licensing system under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010: report
This report considers all aspects of the operation of the seal licensing system during the period from 2011 to 2014.
Annex 4 Seal Licences 2014
Marine Scotland received 56 applications for seal licences and 53 licences have been granted: three licences are pending approval. Table 1 below provides a full breakdown.
TABLE 1
| Seal Management Area | Application Type | Licence Type | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Protection of Health and Welfare | Prevention of Serious Damage | Total | Protection of Health and Welfare | Prevention of Serious Damage | Total | |
| East Coast | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Moray Firth | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Orkney & North Coast | 2 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 8 |
| Shetland | 6 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| South-West Scotland | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Western Isles | 9 | 2 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 11 |
| West Scotland | 12 | 4 | 16 | 12 | 4 | 16 |
| Grand Total | 31 | 25 | 56 | 31 | 22 | 53 |
The 31 licences issued for protection of health and welfare and one issued for prevention of serious damage, cover a total of 214 individual fish farms.
The maximum number of seals involved is 765 grey and 240 common. Table 2 below provides details. This maximum represents less than 0.7% of the grey seal population of 100,000 and slightly over 1% of the minimum common seal population of 20,500. The numbers are significantly lower than previous estimates proposed by Non-Government Organisations at between 2,000 and 5,000.
TABLE 2a Grey Seals
| Seal Management Area | Grey Seals Applied For | PBR* | Grey Seals Granted | Grey Seals Shot: 1st quarter | Grey Seals Shot: 2nd quarter | Grey Seals Shot: 3rd quarter | Grey Seals Shot: 4th quarter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Coast | 128 | 314 | 74 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| Moray Firth | 239 | 174 | 90 | 3 | 12 | 4 | 6 |
| Orkney & North Coast | 330 | 1448 | 232 | 5 | 31 | 19 | 9 |
| Shetland | 198 | 236 | 105 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 6 |
| South-West Scotland | 66 | 57 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Western Isles | 188 | 387 | 116 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 2 |
| West Scotland | 188 | 386 | 123 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
| Grand Total | 1327 | 3002 | 765 | 25 | 72 | 36 | 31 |
The maximum number of grey seals allowed on licences granted in 2014 represents a more than 1% reduction on numbers involved in the previous year's licences, and a 25% reduction since the system was introduced in 2011.
TABLE 2b Common Seals
| Seal Management Area | Common Seals Applied For | PBR | Common Seals Granted | Common Seals Shot: 1st quarter | Common Seals Shot: 2nd quarter | Common Seals Shot: 3rd quarter | Common Seals Shot: 4th quarter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Coast | 39 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Moray Firth | 24 | 17 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Orkney & North Coast | 39 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Shetland | 17 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| South-West Scotland | 91 | 35 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Western Isles | 71 | 82 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| West Scotland | 266 | 446 | 152 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 11 |
| Grand Total | 547 | 617 | 240 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 16 |
The maximum number of common seals allowed on licences granted in 2014 represents a nearly 10% reduction on numbers involved in the previous year's licences, and an over 24% reduction since the system was introduced in 2011.
Summary
The average level of shooting is around 20% for fourth year of operation.
51% of all licences have shot no seals at all during 2014.
Around 39% of shooting has occurred at fish farms and 61% at fisheries during the fourth year.
Only 80 seals have been shot across 214 individual fish farms and 125 seals across over 40 river fisheries and netting stations during the third year.
There was an overall reduction in the level of shooting in 2014: 25% lower compared to 2013 and 56% lower compared to 2011 figures.
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