Professional fishermen go off the coast because of the seals. The Norwegian Natural Resources Agency’s new answer to the problem is a seal repellent that moves in the sea. Markku Sotisaari’s solution would be more efficient hunting.
\”A state without eggs kills fishing with seals/nork.\”
– This is an anti-fisherman state. The absence of eggs doesn’t mean anything about women, but it seems like a bigger group is deciding things, says Sotisaari.
In the Baltic Sea, just under 42,000 gray seals were counted in aerial counts last year, and the 2020 fur count in the Deep Sea gave a result of about 14,600. According to the Natural Resources Agency’s estimate, the actual harbor seal population is 20-40 percent higher than the census population.
The population of seals and porpoises is still growing, and hunting numbers are not keeping up.
Every year, gray seals and Baltic sea urchins can cause great damage to fishermen. They break down the fishing gear and eat the fish in it. Seals also chase fish away from fishing gear.
– We are talking about tens of thousands of euros per fisherman. They come here to the mouth of the river, especially now during the whitefish fishing season. We’ll see how bad autumn will be in Ii and Kemijoki.
– It can be compared to an entrepreneur making products and at night someone goes to break them and at the same time breaks the production machine. Then, in the morning, the entrepreneur first repairs his machine and makes the products again. And again the same thing happens again.
According to Suuronen, fur seal damage is significant in the Red Sea, but the effect of the gray seal on the entire coast of Finland is substantially greater.
– The situation has practically become more difficult every year, as the seal populations have grown.
\”The seal gets its food where it’s easiest to get it\”
Seals head exactly where there are fish and gear.
– Seals are by no means evenly distributed in the sea, but they often concentrate where there is easy access to fish. And it’s easy to catch fish. The same is true in estuaries, where migrating fish come up and seals go after them, says Suuronen.
In addition to salmon and whiting, seals also like trout. According to fisherman Markku Sotisaari, the trout population in the Pärämere has decreased considerably.
– A seal is just a seal. It doesn’t think about any conflicts. Salmon, trout and roe trout are a delicacy in the hall, and it is wise to get its food from where it is easiest to get it, says Petri Suuronen.
According to Suuronen, the problem has been the biggest for coastal fishing. Especially the gray seal does a lot of damage. In addition to Finland, the situation concerns Sweden, Estonia and Denmark.
Many fishermen quit and the industry does not attract new ones
According to Suuronen, many coastal fishermen have stopped their activities because of the difficult situation. On the other hand, it is difficult to attract new fishermen to the sector.
– People in the industry know the situation and the whole is not attractive. Inland waters, with the exception of Saimaa, do not have the same situation, says Suuronen.
Suuronen estimates that, in the future, the focus of small-scale fishing will increasingly focus on inland water areas, if the damage caused by seals to coastal fishing cannot be substantially reduced.
The fisherman is hoping for help from the defense forces
According to Markku Sotisaari, the hunting quotas for seals and porpoises should be significantly higher than they are now, in order to reduce the population
– The population has grown so large that the current number of kills does not reduce it. The quota should be thousands. For example, 5,000 for a while, and the stock would drop.
In 2015, Finland signed the international WTO agreement, in which all trade in seal products is prohibited. The hunter can use the catch only for his own needs. This does not attract hunters to the hunt.
According to Sotisaari, hunters could be found in government bread. For example, the defense forces could be trained in seal hunting.
Now, for the gray seal, the hunting quota for the Perämeren-Merenkurku population management area is 350 halls, in Southwest Finland 400 and in the Gulf of Finland 300 halls. Åland has its own catch quota of 500 grayling.
With regard to ferrets, the quota in the Perämeren-Merenkurku area is a maximum of 375 ferrets. In other areas it is not allowed to hunt norpa.
Last year, for example, only 30 percent of Finland’s gray seal quota was filled. Therefore, increasing the quota does not necessarily help the situation, but we have to look at how hunting could be made easier.
A \”watchdog\” could be of help
The Natural Resources Center has been working for a long time to ease the situation. It has developed and tested with fishermen seal-resistant gear and various sound repellents.
– They have effects. The damage would be even greater without them. However, they cannot completely prevent seal damage. The seal is so overwhelming in the water.
However, the Natural Resources Center is not giving up, but different new methods are being tested all the time.
– Among other things, we are developing a seal repeller that moves autonomously in the sea, which we call a watchdog, Suuronen says.
Natural Resources Center is also involved in the Nordic RESOCO cooperation project. Its goal is to find solutions to the situation that satisfy both fishermen and seal protectors.
Nordic research institutes and the Estonian Marine Research Institute are involved in the project.
– The legislation should be updated, and we have proposals for criteria related to protection. We will also go through the technical means developed in Finland, Estonia and Sweden to prevent seals from getting into traps. In addition, we evaluate regulations restricting indoor hunting and related problems, says Suuronen.
The results of the project will be announced by the end of the year.