Grey seal (Halichoerus grypus)
Key Findings
- Grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) are a common marine mammal on the East Grampian Coast. They have a number of haul out sites including the area around Rattray Head, the mouth of the River Don and at a number of cave sites south of Stonehaven. In recent years the Ythan Estuary has grown to become the largest haul-out site in Scotland.
- Seal do not breed in the area in large numbers.
- The Ythan is a designated haul-out site and it is illegal to harass the seals site as set out in the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010.
- Work has been carried out to assess the degree of predation by seals on salmon on the Ythan and at Aberdeen harbour. In both cases scat analysis showed little evidence of salmonid predation with the majority of food shown to be flat fish. More analysis may be needed. Some individual seals do however target salmonid and my travel up rivers a considerable distance.
- The highest numbers of seals found at the Ythan are in late winter and early spring.
Counting Seals at the Ythan in 2010
Grey seal numbers Ythan counted by NatureScot nb from 2016 to 2021 counts were done by Marine Scotland
Grey Seal counts at the Ythan by month 2022-23
Notes
Linked Information Sheets
Key sources of Information
Reviewed on/by
Status
Live. Next update due 22/11/24
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Telephone: 07971149117
E-mail: ian.hay@stateofthecoast.scot
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