Aerial Surveys of Harbour Seals in the Wadden Sea in 2008

Back to Pre-epizootic Level, and Still Growing

In 2008 the surveys to monitor developments in the harbour seal Phoca vitulina population in the entire Wadden Sea were trilaterally coordinated according to the Seal Management Plan. In Denmark, a new survey team was installed under careful instructions from the former survey team. In addition, a member of the former team took part of the first aerial count in 2008 to secure consistency. Like in other areas, counts in Denmark are done using a digital camera, allowing post hoc quality assurance.

Authors:

Trilateral Seal Expert Group (TSEG)
Sophie M.J.M. Brasseur and Peter J.H., Reijnders, IMARES, Texel, The Netherlands
Thomas Borchardt, National Park Schleswig-Holstein, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Ursula Siebert, FTZ-Büsum der Universität Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Michael Stede and Sven Ramdohr, LAVES Cuxhaven, Niedersachsen, Germany
Lasse Fast Jensen, Fiskeri- og Søfartmuseet, Esbjerg, Denmark
Jonas Teilman and Jacob Tougaard, National Environmental Research Institute, Aarhus University, Denmark