On 31 January 2011, Part 6 of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 came into force.
Part 6 seeks to balance seal conservation with sustainable fisheries and aquaculture and its introduction means:
- It is an offence to kill or injure a seal except under licence or for welfare reasons, outlawing unregulated seal shooting that was permitted under previous legislation
- A number of seal conservation areas around Scotland will begin to be introduced, designed to protect vulnerable, declining common seal populations
- A new seal licensing system, providing a well regulated and monitored context for seal management in Scotland has been introduced
2012 Seal Licences
Marine Scotland received 59 applications for seal licences and 58 licences were granted, including 2 still pending issue. Table 1 below provides a full breakdown. (This information is correct as at 1 February 2012).
| TABLE 1 | | | | | | |
| | Application Type | | | Licence Type |
| Seal Management Area | Protection of Health and Welfare | Prevention of Serious Damage | Total | Protection of Health and Welfare | Prevention of Serious Damage | Total |
| | | | | | | |
| East Coast | 0 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
| Moray Firth | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Orkney and North Coast | 2 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 9 |
| Shetland | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| South West Scotland | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| West Scotland | 11 | 5 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 16 |
| Western Isles | 9 | 2 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 10 |
| | | | | | | |
| Grand Total | 31 | 28 | 59 | 30* | 28 | 58 |
* The 30 licences issued under health and welfare cover a total of 227 individual fish farms
The maximum number of seals involved is 805 grey and 274 common. Table 2 below provides details. This maximum represents less than 1% of the grey seal population of 108,000 and slightly over 1% of the minimum common seal population of 20,400. The numbers are significantly lower than previous estimates proposed by Non Government Organisations at between 2,000 and 5,000. (This information is correct as at 1 February 2012).
| TABLE 2a | Grey Seals | | |
| Seal management area | Grey seals applied for | PBR | Grey seals granted |
| East Coast | 846 | 277 | 111 |
| Moray Firth | 786 | 152 | 75 |
| Orkney & North Coast | 475 | 959 | 260 |
| Shetland | 341 | 163 | 109 |
| Western Isles | 227 | 408 | 98 |
| South West Scotland | 63 | 45 | 26 |
| West Scotland | 206 | 297 | 126 |
| Grand Total | 2944 | 2301 | 805 |
The maximum number of grey seals allowed on licences granted in 2012 represents a 20% reduction on numbers involved in the previous year's licences.
| TABLE 2b | Common Seals | | |
| Seal management area | Common seals applied for | PBR | Common seals granted |
| East Coast | 105 | 2 | 0 |
| Moray Firth | 77 | 20 | 19 |
| Orkney & North Coast | 58 | 18 | 7 |
| Shetland | 32 | 18 | 6 |
| Western Isles | 107 | 54 | 39 |
| South West Scotland | 104 | 35 | 30 |
| West Scotland | 309 | 442 | 173 |
| Grand Total | 792 | 589 | 274 |
The maximum number of common seals allowed on licences granted in 2012 represents a 10% reduction on numbers involved in the previous year's licences.
For more information, a series of frequently asked questions and answers on the implementation of the new seal legislation was produced 2011.