Grey Seal

 Male grey seals can weigh as much as 300 kilograms.

Partial recovery

Despite recent increases, the entire grey seal population of the Baltic Sea is still listed as "endangered" by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Surveys indicate a total population approaching 10,000 in the entire Baltic, mainly in Swedish, Finnish and Estonian waters. This figure represents a considerable recovery from a population low of 2,000 in the 1970s, but it is estimated that a century ago the Baltic was home to around 100,000 grey seals. Hunting was the main reason for their decline until the 1940s, whereas reproductive failure and disease have been the main problems since the 1960s.

Struggling in the south

Grey seals (Halicoerus grypus) can be found anywhere in the Baltic, but are more common in northern waters, where populations increased by about 12% annually over the period 1982-97, compared to 5% increases further south. The reasons for the lower increase in the south are not known, but the residual effects of contaminants on reproduction could be a factor, since concentrations of PCB and dioxins in biota are no longer decreasing in the Baltic Proper. Another problem is high mortality rates among young grey seals who become entangled in fishing gear.

Grey seals have been reintroduced in the southern Baltic along the German and Swedish coasts and plans for reintroductions are presently being considered for the Polish coast. The population in the Kattegat now only numbers about ten seals.