Seal licensing records: 2011-present

Records of seal licenses granted across Scotland since the coming in to force of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010.


Marine Scotland received 45 applications for seal licences and all have been granted. 

Table 1 below provides a full breakdown. (This information is correct as of 31 January 2019.)

Table 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Application Type Received

 

Licence Type Granted

 

Seal Management Area

Protection of Health & Welfare

Prevention of Serious Damage

Total

Protection of Health & Welfare

Prevention of Serious Damage

Total

East Coast

0

4

4

0

4

4

Moray Firth

0

1

1

0

1

1

Orkney & North Coast

2

5

7

2

5

7

Shetland

3

0

3

3

0

3

South West Scotland

2

2

4

2

2

4

Western Isles

7

3

10

7

3

10

West Scotland

13

3

16

13

3

16

Total

27

18

45

27

18

45

The 27 licences issued for protection of health and welfare and one issued for prevention of serious damage, cover a total of 215 individual fish farms.  The other 17 licences issued for prevention of serious damage cover rivers and estate fisheries.

The maximum number of seals involved is 228 Grey and 108 Common. Tables 2 and 3 below provide details. This maximum represents 0.2% of the minimum Grey seal population of 106,250 and 0.41% of the minimum Common seal population of 26,565 (Ref: SCOS-BP 18/08).

Table 2 – Grey Seal

 

 

 

Grey Seals Shot

Seal Management Area

Total applied for

PBR*

Total  granted

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

East Coast

21

845

12

0

1

0

0

Moray Firth

40

275

18

4

2

3

9

Orkney & North Coast

112

2249

47

0

4

4

4

Shetland

44

360

37

2

0

3

3

South West Scotland

30

86

12

0

0

0

2

Western Isles

149

1336

43

5

5

7

6

West Scotland

166

1219

59

4

3

1

3

Total

562

6370

228

15

15

18

27

The maximum number of Grey seals allowed on licences granted in 2019 is the same as the number of grey seals allowed on the previous year’s licences. 

 

Table 3 – Common Seal

 

 

 

Common Seals Shot

Seal Management Area

Total applied for

PBR*

Total  granted

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

East Coast

12

2

0

0

0

0

0

Moray Firth

6

5

0

0

0

0

0

Orkney & North Coast

10

8

3

0

0

0

0

Shetland

5

20

3

0

0

0

0

South West Scotland

28

50

13

0

0

0

1

Western Isles

59

105

17

3

1

2

2

West Scotland

195

667

72

3

0

7

3

Total

315

857

108

6

1

9

6

The maximum number of Common seals allowed on licences granted in 2019 represents an increase of 5.9% compared to the previous year’s licences.

*Potential Biological Removal (PBR) is the number of individual seals that can be removed from the population without causing a decline in the population, and is calculated annually by Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) using the latest seal counts.

A full list of licences issued in 2019, by region and company, with the number of seals shot so far, by site, is available to download.

For more information, a series of frequently asked questions and answers on the implementation of the new seal legislation was produced 2011.

Back to top