Researchers have now established that the harbor seals in the Kosterhavet area are becoming increasingly scarce. Last year, only half of the females gave birth to pups. This is according to research from the University of Gothenburg, following this year's seal count. – We were very surprised. These low numbers cannot be dismissed year after year, says Karin Hårding, professor of zoological ecology at the University of Gothenburg and the leader of the project.
We accompanied seal researchers from the University of Gothenburg, to Koster. In the archipelago on the Swedish west coast. Koster is one of the places where the harbor seals give birth, at the beginning of summer every year.
The fish are running out, the herring and the baltic herring are threatened and the cod is almost completely gone. When there is a competition for the little fish left, many people want to blame the seal. Both that it eats too much of "our" fish and that it destroys our fishing gear. But how is it really? Does the seal eat more than we do, and what does it actually eat? We asked some seal researchers.
The government makes it possible to introduce licence hunting for both grey seals and humpback seals. "This is about protecting fish stocks and coastal fishing," says Minister for Rural Affairs Anna-Caren Sätherberg
