В Исландии готовятся к новой оценке популяции тюленей после многолетнего снижения их численности

Researchers are preparing a new assessment of Iceland’s harbour seal population after decades of decline left the species classified as endangered on Iceland’s Red List. An informal annual count along roughly 100 kilometres of the northwest coast recorded 441 seals this year, according to RÚV. That local count is an indicator rather than a national population estimate, but it remains far below the more than 1,000 seals recorded on the same monitoring route in several years around 2008–2010. What’s the Story? - A regional volunteer count recorded 441 seals this year, compared with more than 1,000 in several early counts. - The last formal national estimate, from 2020, put the population at about 10,300, down roughly 70% from 1980. - A new formal stock assessment is being carried out in 2026. A long decline Sandra Granquist, who leads seal research at the Icelandic Seal Center, told RÚV that the national population was estimated at around 33,000 animals in 1980 and 10,300 in 2020. The new assessment should provide the clearest update in several years. The Icelandic Seal Center’s Great Seal Count has been held regularly since 2007. Its published historical results show large year-to-year variation, and the Center stresses that the volunteer count is used as an indicator of the wider population rather than a substitute for a national assessment. Harbour seals face several pressures. RÚV noted continuing accidental deaths in fishing nets, while the population also reflects the legacy of deliberate reductions decades ago. Because females generally produce one pup a year, recovery can be slow. Iceland Review has previously examined the conservation challenge created by seal bycatch in lumpfish fisheries and research into how boats and other traffic affect seal behaviour. Sources: RÚV; Icelandic Seal Center. Original source: RÚV Read more stories covering Icelandic society, politics, business, and culture at Iceland Review News.