Aerial surveys of Harbour Seals in the Wadden Sea in 2011

Solid increases in total number as well as pups

In 2011 the coordinated aerial surveys for the harbour seal counts of the Wadden Sea were performed as usual. The counts are synchronised between the three Wadden Sea countries: Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands in order to obtain a single estimate for the size of the entire Wadden Sea population, and the number of pups born. As seals are counted when hauling out on sandbanks, counts are carried out when low-tide occurs during midday.

Authors:

Trilateral Seal Expert Group (TSEG):
Sophie Brasseur, IMARES, Texel, The Netherlands
Thomas Borchardt, LKN Schleswig-Holstein, Nationalparkverwaltung, Germany
Richard Czeck, Nationalparkverwaltung Niedersächsisches Wattenmeer, Niedersachsen, Germany
Lasse Fast Jensen, Fiskeri- og Søfartsmuseet, Esbjerg, Denmark
Anders Galatius Jørgensen, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Denmark
Sven Ramdohr, LAVES Cuxhaven, Niedersachsen, Germany
Ursula Siebert, ITAW, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Germany
Jonas Teilmann, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Denmark