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Home Breaking News

Thriving seal population shows Thames is ‘full of life’

Abc Morning by Abc Morning
September 6, 2021
in Breaking News
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0

The Thames’ healthy seal population is proof the river is teeming with life according to conservationists.

Despite a dip in numbers over the past two years, researchers from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) found the river was home to some 2,866 grey seals and 797 harbour seals following the most recent pupping season.

The seal population has been counted every year since 2013 – apart from 2020 – owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

Marine biologists use the mammals as a barometer of the health of the river, with stable numbers indicating good water quality and reliable stocks of fish.

Although they are a protected species, they face a number of threats, including disease, marine litter, becoming entangled in abandoned fishing gear – and being hit by ship traffic.

A seal with her pups on the banks of the River Stour near Ramsgate in Kent
(Image: PA Images)

Seals are also vulnerable to disturbance when they are having their pups, particularly from curious members of the public, loose dogs and others using the water, such as canoeists and kayakers.

In 2002, meanwhile, the population was badly hit by an outbreak of distemper virus, which provokes a number of symptoms including a rash, conjunctivitis and often fatal pneumonia.

To monitor their population, researchers compare the seals from photographs taken from a light aircraft of different haul-out spots in the Thames Estuary over a period of three days.

These numbers are then counted before the final figure adjusted to account for the fact that a number of seals will always be out at sea.

Despite that fall in numbers since 2019, researchers said it was not definitive proof that the two populations of seals are facing difficulties.

“It is the long-term picture that is most significant, and that’s why it is important to do these surveys on a regular basis,” said conservation biologist Thea Cox told the PA news agency.

“Changes in number can be down to a few factors, such as the variability in the proportion of seals at sea whilst the survey is taking place, but this is something we want to keep a close eye on.

“As top predators, (seals) are a great indicator of ecological health, so they tell us how the Thames is doing.”

The thriving seals show how far the recovery of the Thames has come since it was declared “biologically dead” in the 1950s.

Seals on the banks of the River Stour near Ramsgate
(Image: PA Images)

“People think the Thames is dead because it is brown, but the Thames is full of life – the water quality has improved so much,” Ms Cox added.

“Seals have always been here, but there wasn’t necessarily the data on them so we wanted to understand how they use the Thames, where they go and their numbers.

“Nationally some seal populations are going up and some are going down and we don’t necessarily know exactly the cause.

“It could be do do with increased pupping, it could be to do with animals moving around the coastline nationally – it’s a question we would love to be able to answer.”

Competition for space between grey seals and harbour seals for space has led to attacks by grey seals on harbour seals, Ms Cox said.

Near one of the seals’ favourite haul-out spots close to Ramsgate, Kent, plenty of plastic litter is visible around the shoreline, but it is not clear how much of a threat it poses to the animals.

“There is definitely some litter and there have been studies showing the extent that we see that in marine mammals,” Ms Cox said.

“But knowing the impacts of that and the population level impacts – that’s something we also don’t know yet but there are lots of studies going into that to work out what level of threat that might be.

“Entanglement (in fishing nets) is a threat to seal populations, it is less of a problem here in the Thames but it is definitely a threat to populations of seals in general.

“We are still trying to develop the evidence base about what those impacts on the animals actually are.”

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