Wildlife & Countryside Link: ‘Benefits of seal watching for UK coastal tourism (August 2021) The UK is home to two seal species, the grey seal and harbour seal. Despite precipitous falls in numbers to around 500 in the early 20th century, it is now estimated that there are in excess of 120,000 grey seals in Britain, representing 40% of the world’s population.

1.  The UK is also home to at least 33,400 harbour seals.

2.  However, despite a recovery by these charismatic marine mammals, they still face numerous threats including climate change, disturbances, marine litter, entanglement in fishing gear, and pollution, and their conservation can too often take a back seat to other priorities.

This briefing will show that there is a strong economic case for seal protection around the UK’s coast. With many thousands of jobs in coastal communities dependent on tourism, the protection of seals is essential to growing the appeal of sustainable coastal wildlife tourism. With the UK now an Independent Coastal State and the Fisheries Act marking a new era of marine management, there are real opportunities to deliver a new approach. Indeed, the next two years will be critical in determining both the future direction of marine policy and the future prosperity of coastal communities.’   Click here to read the briefing