New research by St Andrews University into seal moulting and regrowth shows that the Common or Harbour seal spends more time out of the water during moult to avoid losing too much body heat.
The energy required during regrowth after moulting is half as much as the energy required to rear pups. The additional call on energy is because the seals apparently generate additional heat to help them regrow lost hair.
Seals should therefore not be disturbed during this period. Disruptions cause them to use more energy, prolonging the moulting and regrowth period.
This, in turn, leaves less time for hunting, seeing seals go into the winter period with less of a protective fat reserve than normal.
Given the alarming and not yet fully explained drop in Common seal numbers, this research would indicate that measures should be taken to extend the close season to include not only pupping and rearing but the moult and regrowth phase of the annual cycle.
This matter may be of interest to Mark Carter whose campaign to protect the Common seal by stopping seal shootings continues.
One thing that is known within scientific circles and now with the politicians that are in the process of scrutinising the Marine (Scotland) Bill is that there is much to learn about seals, their environment, and the actions/results that commercial companies place upon them in order to increase their profits.
As a result of my seals and Marine Protected Areas campaign I have received several replies from “devolved” powers in Britain stating very different things about seals and their protection, they can’t even get their act together. I have witnessed the production of evidence during a Parliamentary Hearing made by a member of an SNH Board that beggars belief. You can read the transcript of the hearing at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/committees/rae/or-09/ru09-1902.htm#Col1814 Two of the outrageous comments put before the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee were: We should be able to, “Manage Greys to “protect” commons”, this refers to an un-proven idea that Grey Seals may be competing with Common Seals and along with Orca are responsible for the catastrophic decline seen in the Common Seal population.
Argyll has seen a dramatic decline in the Common Seal population and within the inner areas of Argyll we don’t have many Orca and in many regions of decline nor do we have an abundance of Grey Seals, so how can they be responsible for the decline? The transcript also records, “Nobody goes to colonies to shoot seals”, referring to the culls around our coast which are carried out by salmon farms, fishermen, salmon netsmen and salmon anglers, an activity that the salmon aquaculture industry does not want you to hear about, just to put “cheap” salmon on your plate; this claim is absolute rubbish! This activity of shooting seals on their haul-outs has been witnessed and documented for a very long time and is contained in published works and law cases. This government refuses to investigate the numbers of seals shot around our coasts; the Scottish Government does not know how many seals are shot and yet they feel competent to state: “The policy of the Scottish Government is to permit limited local management of seals” (the term, “management” means shooting!) Furthermore there is no legislative basis for “limiting” the killing. Not knowing the figures of shot seals they also state, “it is already clear that local shooting cannot explain it” (the drastic decline in Common Seal population), how do they know, they don’t have the figures!.
I have today submitted several complaints; the first to the Cabinet Secretary for the Environment and to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman concerning the response from one of the top civil servants that deals with the seals issue and another to SNH concerning commercially biased “experts” on SNH Boards; do they declare their interests and does the SNH Board include members able to counter these commercial interests.
As always, please check the facts and ask your Parliamentary Members to do the same before they debate on these important issues in the pending Marine Bill, one on which we all depend, more than we realise! You can report abuse or request further evidence/information to my claims stated through http://marineconcern.blogspot.com .
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The moulting period is the period during which seals both shed their old hair and grow their new hair. During this period seals haul out for more of the time than usual to conserve energy, and highest numbers of seals are usually seen at haul-out sites. It is DURING this period (and of course during the preceding pupping period), that seals should be especially protected from disturbance. The ‘close’ season already affords seals protection from shooting (unless fishing gear is nearby) during the pupping season and most of the moulting season, but the restrictions during the ‘close’ season affect shooting only and do not protect them from disturbance at all. What is required is for the new seal protection law within the Scottish marine bill to include a specific offence of disturbance at all times of year. This would include pedestrian and boat disturbance. This would harmonise the law in Scotland with that in Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man. The concept of ‘close season’ is out-dated and will in any case be dropped in the new Sottish marine bill.
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