Killer whales 'decimating harbour seal population'
Saturday 25 April 2009
Latest in Nature
On Facebook
The catastrophic decline of the common seal population in Scottish waters could be blamed partly on killer whales, marine biologists believe.
Numbers of the common seal, also known as harbour seals, are continuing to fall in Orkney, Shetland and Caithness – areas where the whales' predatory behaviour is increasing. One theory is that killer whales are moving south from Iceland and the Arctic to escape the effects of climate change.
The common seal population has falled by up to 50 per cent in the Firth of Tay and 25 per cent in Strathclyde. There are now up to 35,000 common seals in Scottish waters, compared with 50,000 in 2001. By contrast, there are about 164,000 grey seals – 44,000 more than was previously thought.
The Scottish Government's Special Committee on Seals report for 2008 found that competition for food from the more stable grey seal population might also be a significant factor in the decline in harbour seal numbers.
Professor Ian Boyd, director of the sea mammal research unit at St Andrews University, said the presence of killer whales was having an increasingly harmful effect on the species.
But Mark Simmonds, the director of science at the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, said the decline was much dar likely to be linked to the legalised shooting of seals to protect fish farms.
A report by the BBC's Countryfile programme this month suggested that up to 5,000 seals were killed off the Scottish coast each year to protect the lucrative salmon industry, as well as by netsmen and anglers.
- 1 Sellafield faces nuclear option as overspending threatens plant's future
- 2 10 best hiking boots
- 3 GM food banned in Monsanto canteen
- 4 The world's rubbish dump: a tip that stretches from Hawaii to Japan
- 5 The 10 best commuter bikes
- 6 Animal Extinction - the greatest threat to mankind
- 7 UK to press for global green accounting system
- 1 Spotify: 1 million plays, £108 return
- 2 Apple admits it has a human rights problem
- 3 Kate Allen: It's time for America to put an end to this shameful scandal
- 4 Lightning kills an entire football team
- 5 I was born to be a killer. Every night I see the Devil in my dreams
- 6 Now The Sun tries to call in its favours from Downing Street
- 7 BBC to issue global apology for documentaries that broke rules
- 8 Mona Lisa's 'twin sister' is discovered – 500 years late
- 9 Rhodri Marsden: What we like and what we don't like are often closer than you'd think
- 10 Modern lovers: The 'sexual body warriors' and pioneers transforming 21st-century relationships
Free trial of new Independent iPad app
Get your daily dose of the best of British journalism, sponsored by American Airlines
Win a three-week coastal jaunt
Spend three weeks exploring every nook and cranny of gorgeous Atlantic Canada.
Amazing restaurant offers
Three glasses of free champagne and a special menu at 46 top London restaurants.
Latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Career Services
Day In a Page
No secularism please, we're British
Working as a jail torturer ruined my life
New Arsenal face an old question of credibility in San Siro




Comments