Published November 14, 2025 | Version v1
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Survey Results of Harbour Seals in the Wadden Sea in 2025: Record high pup count despite recent decline in moult counts

Creators

  • 1. Aarhus University
  • 2. ROR icon Wageningen Marine Research
  • 3. EDMO icon Nationalparkverwaltung Niedersächsisches Wattenmeer
  • 4. ROR icon Landesbetrieb für Küstenschutz, Nationalpark und Meeresschutz Schleswig-Holstein
  • 5. EDMO icon Common Wadden Sea Secretariat
  • 6. Environmental Authority of the free Hanseatic city of Hamburg, National Park Administration
  • 7. ROR icon University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation
  • 8. Niedersächsisches Landesamt für Verbraucherschutz und Lebensmittelsicherheit
  • 9. Museum Vest

Description

Harbour seals that come on land in the Wadden Sea area are dependent on the Wadden Sea and adjacent North Sea waters where they feed, sleep and mate. Seals are, however, difficult to observe and count at sea, but accurate counts in the Wadden Sea can be done when they haul out on the sandbanks to rest, moult or breed. To obtain data on the population size in the Wadden Sea and on Helgoland, surveys of harbour seals and their pups, are coordinated between the three Wadden Sea countries: Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Files

Harbour_Seal_Report_2025.pdf

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