Sunday 5 August 2018

Do seals affect your commercial fishing activity?

Seals eat approx 7% of their body weight when they eat - say 24lbs.

Unfortunately, seals don't necessarily eat the whole fish that they pick from fishermen's nets - they tend to take a single mouthful from each fish - often to get at the liver - especially with fish like hake.

WARNING! - this fishermen is expressing his frustration at having his nets suffer the unwanted attention of the local seal population off Lands End.



To this end the NFFO are carrying out a survey and encourage all those fishermen who have been affected to take part.

This survey is for commercial fishermen in England about their experiences of interactions with seals (seals feeding on catches, damage to gears and entanglement). Your responses will help us better understand the extent of seal–fishery interactions around the country and identify options for non-lethal measures to reduce these interactions. Participation in the survey is voluntary.

This survey is being carried out as part of a wider study, which is implemented by ABPmer Ltd and the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO) on behalf of the Marine Management Organisation and Defra. The study aims to identify fisheries in English waters where such interactions are a significant issue and to field test the most promising deterrent option(s) within one or more of those fisheries. This will help with the identification of viable and effective options for reducing seal–fishery interactions, with benefits for both fisheries (reduction of damaged catches or time lost) and seal populations (reduced impacts from fisheries).

Please use this link to complete the survey:

Win a £50 Amazon voucher! By taking part in the survey, you will have the chance to win a £50 Amazon voucher. Terms and conditions apply.

Time to complete the survey: The survey should take no more than 15 minutes to complete.

Queries: If you have any questions about completing the survey, prefer to complete it offline, or wish to discuss anything further, please contact Suzannah Walmsley, ABPmer (Email: swalmsley@abpmer.co.uk; Tel: 02380 711 858).

Please use this link to complete the survey: