NatureScot Commissioned Report 572: Surveys of harbour (common) and grey seals in Orkney, the north coast of Scotland, the Moray Firth and the Firth of Tay in August 2012
This report describes the findings of the harbour seal survey of Orkney, the north coast of Scotland, the Moray Firth and the Firth of Tay carried out in August 2012. Unfortunately due to adverse weather conditions and some technical problems it was not possible to complete the survey of Orkney. The results therefore represent a partial count but there are plans to undertake a full survey in 2013. The main results show that the number of harbour seals in Orkney continue to decline when those areas surveyed in 2012 are compared with the same areas from the previous 2010 survey. Numbers in the Moray Firth remain stable and are comparable with those in 2010 and 2011. the number in the Firth of Tay remains at a historically low level at 78 animals, representing only 11.6% of the mean count between 1991 and 2002.
Pages: 36
Published: 2013
NatureScot Commissioned Report 572
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