MINUTES OF THE 5th MEETING OF THE SEALS
FORUM
THURSDAY 3rd MARCH 2005, SCOTLAND'S HOTEL,
PITLOCHRY
Attendees
Scottish Executive Environment and Rural affairs
Department (SEERAD)
Sea Mammal Research Unit, St Andrews
Fisheries Research Services: Freshwater Laboratory
Fisheries Research Services: Marine
Laboratory
Lighthouse Field Station,
Cromarty
Highlands & Islands Fishermen's Association
Scottish Fishermen's
Federation
Association of Salmon Fishery Boards
The Atlantic Salmon Trust
Salmon Net Fishing Association
Tourism and Environment
Forum
Wild
Scotland
Scottish SPCA
Marine Conservation
Society
International Fund for Animal Welfare
(IFAW)
Welcome and Introductions
The Chair welcomed everyone to the fifth meeting of the
Seals Forum and indicated that the main purpose of the
meeting was to discuss the Moray Firth Pilot Seal
Management Plan.
Minutes of the fourth meeting and matters
arising
Subject to one minor correction, the members agreed the
minutes of the previous meeting.
The Forum reviewed the action points arising from the
previous meeting. The majority had been completed, although
it was agreed that two would be carried forward.
Advice from the Special Committee on Seals
(SCOS) - 2004 Annual Report
The Chair thanked the Forum and Working Group for
preparing the questions submitted and the Special Committee
on Seals (SCOS) for producing the annual scientific
advice.
Questions 1, 2 and 3 (seal populations and
their impact on fisheries)
The Forum noted the responses to these questions.
Question 4 (non-lethal population control
methods)
The Forum noted the response to this question. It
considered that it might be worth testing the current
non-lethal immunological population control methods on a
small scale. This would provide some clarification of their
potential for use in Scotland.
Action: Working Group to consider a small scale
trial of immunological seal population control to clarify
the potential for this in Scotland.
Questions 5, 6 and 7 (seal
distribution)
The Forum noted the responses to these questions.
Questions 7 and 8 (Moray Firth seals)
The Forum noted the responses to these questions. It was
felt that the picture of local seal populations in the
Moray Firth might benefit from the use of historical data
taken from a longer time period.
Action: Working Group to consider the potential
value of less recent historical data for local seal
populations.
Question 10 (Barra seals)
The Forum noted the response to this question. It was
noted that local declines in common seal numbers were not
unprecedented and perhaps survey effort should be increased
in such areas.
Action: Working Group to explore SNH plans for
focused studies of local common seal
populations.
Drafting Questions for the Special Committee on
Seals (SCOS) - 2005
The Forum noted that the Working Group will meet in
early May 2005 to draft questions for SCOS which will be
circulated to the Forum for comment, prior to submission to
SCOS in June/July 2005.
The Moray Firth Seal Management Plan
Pilot
The Forum was provided with a presentation on this Plan.
It considered that further action was required on two
important issues. The first related to the animal welfare
and health and safety aspects of any shooting of seals
under the Plan. It was felt that the training proposed
under the Plan should encompass these issues, in addition
to those of seal biology and identification, and that a
good practice code should be developed.
Action: SEERAD to arrange an early Workshop on good
practice in seal management issues.
The second issue raised by the Forum related to the
presentation of the Plan when it was finally published. It
was felt that this would be an important factor in the
future of the Plan and that it was therefore essential to
seek support from as wide a constituency as possible.
Action: SEERAD to consider a presentation strategy
for the Plan.
The Forum were content to endorse the latest version of
the Plan and its progress towards implementation on this
basis. (IFAW and Wild Scotland reserved their positions to
allow for internal consultation.)
Seal Research
The Forum noted the latest position on seal research. It
was considered however that it would be useful to review
the overall position on seal research in order to identify
any remaining gaps and consider how these might be
addressed.
Action: Working Group to review existing and
planned seal research to identify gaps and consider how
these might be addressed.
AOB
SEERAD tabled additional papers on:-
Membership : - The Forum requested clarification of the
current rules of operation for the Forum but were otherwise
content for SEERAD to consider applications for membership
subject to existing members' comments.
Action: SEERAD to circulate a paper on the current
rules and to consider applications for membership in light
of members comments.
FOI and Data Protection : - The Forum noted the contents
of this paper.
Date of the Next Meeting
The sixth meeting of the Seals Forum will be held in
March 2006 at Pitlochry.