Seals in focus: air counting started on the North Sea coast!

Seals in focus: air counting started on the North Sea coast!

This year, the North Sea coast will be the scene of a fascinating spectacle: starting today, June 16, 2025, seals will be counted from the air. To be more precise, two small aircraft will take off to survey the stocks in Lower Saxony. A total of ten flights are planned in the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park until mid-August. These counts are part of an international seal protection agreement and are organized by the State Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety, or LAVES for short. Parallel to the counts in Lower Saxony, surveys are also taking place in Schleswig-Holstein, Denmark and the Netherlands in order to avoid repetitions. NDR reports that these flights take place at low tide, when the seals are clearly visible on the sandbanks.

The counting is not just for fun, but has a clear biological background. The aim is to record the number and health status of the seals. Because these animals are indicators of the water quality and the fish population in the Wadden Sea. Last year, 2024, 8,557 animals were counted in Lower Saxony, of which 2,019 were young animals. In the previous year there were 8,912 animals, which shows that the population is considered stable overall. Historically, however, the situation was different: in the 1960s, stocks fell dramatically. A systematic survey of the seal population in Lower Saxony has been carried out since 1958; The very first count showed only 1,827 animals. From 1972 onwards, the counts were carried out from the air, which enabled more precise recording. LAVES informs that the seal (Phoca vitulina) is a native marine mammal that spends most of its time in the water and uses the sandbanks and beaches.

Decline in the seal population

Despite the stable numbers, there are worrying trends. The trilateral expert group on marine mammals recently published the results of the annual seal count. Waddensea World Heritage confirms that the seal population is lower today than it was ten years ago. After increasing between 2003 and 2012, numbers stagnated until 2020. At the last count in June 2024, only 8,230 young were recorded, a decrease of 12% compared to the previous year. A decline of 19% was recorded in Schleswig-Holstein in particular. Denmark, on the other hand, saw an increase of 14%, while Lower Saxony and Hamburg saw a slight decrease of 2%.

The reasons for the decline could be varied. In addition to competition for food and human activity in the North Sea, migration and disease were ruled out as factors. Dr. Anders Galatius from Aarhus University calls for further research to better understand the long-term effects of these changes and to gain in-depth knowledge of seal survival and behavior.

All of this highlights how important these counts are. Not only do they enable a well-founded record of animal populations, but they also help to assess the health of our ecosystem. The coming weeks will show how the marine inhabitants on the North Sea coast will develop. The experts are hoping for a positive turnaround and are excited to see what surprises the water has in store for us.