Halved license hunting of gray seals

The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency has decided on license hunting of 750 gray seals in the Baltic Sea during 2024 and 2025. This is a halving of last year’s figure.

The reason why the decision on licensed hunting has been made is to prevent and prevent the damage that gray seals can cause to small-scale professional and recreational fishing in Sweden, writes the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency on its website.

Last year, license hunting was allowed for 1,500 gray seals, compared to the 750 that are now allowed.

“Even if 750 gray seals is a lower take than in previous years, the number gives room to prevent the damage the gray seals cause and is also not judged to threaten favorable conservation status,” says Carl-Johan Lindström, head of the wildlife management unit, in a press release.

Gray seals are considered to be the seal species that causes the most damage in small-scale commercial and recreational fishing, aquaculture and can also affect certain fish stocks.

In previous years, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency has also made decisions on licensed hunting of harbor seals and protective hunting of harbor seals, but since there is only room to capture a few harbor seals and harbor seals, the agency has refrained from allowing hunting this time.

However, it is possible to apply for protection hunting.

FACTS raw seals

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