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 47 applications for seal licences and all have been granted.
Table 1 below provides a full breakdown. (This information is correct as of 31 January 2020.)
| Table 1 |
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Application Type Received |
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Licence Type Granted |
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| Seal Management Area |
Protection of Health & Welfare |
Prevention of Serious Damage |
Total |
Protection of Health & Welfare |
Prevention of Serious Damage |
Total |
| East Coast |
0 |
5 |
5 |
0 |
5 |
5 |
| 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 |
5 |
12 |
7 |
5 |
12 |
| West Scotland |
13 |
3 |
16 |
13 |
3 |
16 |
| Total |
27 |
21 |
48 |
27 |
21 |
48 |
The 27 licences issued for protection of health and welfare and one issued for prevention of serious damage, cover a total of 213 individual fish farms. The other 20 licences issued for prevention of serious damage cover rivers and estate fisheries.
The maximum number of seals involved is 228 Grey and 102 Common. Tables 2 and 3 below provide details. This maximum represents 0.21% of the Grey seal population of 106,250 and 0.38% of the minimum Common seal population of 26,565 (Ref: SCOS-BP 18/08).
| Table 2 – Grey Seal |
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Grey Seals Shot |
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| Seal Management Area |
Total applied for |
PBR* |
Total granted |
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
Q4 |
| East Coast |
24 |
871 |
14 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
| Moray Firth |
40 |
178 |
18 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
|
| Orkney and North Coast |
123 |
2,249 |
45 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
|
| Shetland |
40 |
360 |
34 |
6 |
4 |
0 |
|
| South West Scotland |
30 |
119 |
11 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
|
| Western Isles |
177 |
1,336 |
47 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
|
| West Scotland |
200 |
966 |
59 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
|
| Total |
633 |
6,079 |
228 |
19 |
15 |
12 |
|
The maximum number of Grey seals allowed on licences granted in 2020 represents a decrease of 3.0% compared to the previous year’s licences.
| Table 3 – Common Seal |
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Common Seals Shot |
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| Seal Management Area |
Total applied for |
PBR* |
Total granted |
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
Q4 |
| East Coast |
10 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
| Moray Firth |
6 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
| Orkney and North Coast |
10 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
| Shetland |
4 |
20 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
| South West Scotland |
28 |
71 |
12 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
|
| Western Isles |
66 |
105 |
17 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
|
| West Scotland |
211 |
936 |
70 |
5 |
3 |
9 |
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| Total |
335 |
1,147 |
102 |
13 |
5 |
9 |
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The maximum number of Common seals allowed on licences granted in 2020 represents a decrease of 8.1% 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 2020 by region and company, with the number of seals shot so far, by site, is available to download in the supporting files on this page.
For more information, a series of frequently asked questions and answers on the implementation of the new seal legislation was produced 2011.
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