Contact
Jónas Rúnar Viðarsson
Director of Business and Development
jonas@matis.is
What are the effects of seal populations on the ecosystem and economy? How can seal populations be managed?
Seal hunting used to be an important industry in many Nordic countries a few decades ago, as seal hunters from Norway, Finland, Greenland, Denmark, Iceland, Russia and Canada harvested hundreds of thousands of seals every year. This industry became heavily criticized in the 1980s as animal welfare issues started to be raised. Around the turn of the century the seal hunting had become politically and socially unacceptable, which had effects on markets for the products, making it difficult for commercial seal hunting to continue. Seal hunting in the North Atlantic has now been almost non-existent for the past two decades. But what effects has this change in utilization of seals had on the ecosystem and economy of those affected by seal populations?
The Nordic seals project is a network program which is to gather, analyze and disseminate information on the seal populations in the North-Atlantic, Arctic and adjacent waters. The project will in particular aim to:
- Gather facts about seal populations and distribution in the N-Atlantic, Arctic, and adjacent waters (eg North Sea, Baltic, Skagerrak, Kattegat etc.)
- Examine the effects of seal populations on the ecosystem (prey-predator relationships with other species)
- Study the effects of the seal populations on the Nordic seafood industry,
- Identify means of controlling seal populations, including sustainable harvesting,
- Identify potential products and markets, while considering barriers such as animal welfare, policy and political correctness, food safety and toxins.
The Nordic Seals project is a small network program which is intended to facilitate discussions among key stakeholders. The project's main outputs are:
- A project webpage to disseminate the project's progress and results,
- A project workshop think 29 April 2021
- Presentation at European Fishmeal and Fish Oil Producers (EFFOP) biannual conference held in Skagen, Denmark 1 & June 2022
- Presentation at NAMMCO Conference & Showcase: Marine Mammals – A Sustainable Food Resource held in Torshavn, Faroe Islands 5 & 6 October 2022.
- Presentation to the board of Pelagic Fish Forum (PFF) in Barcelona, Spain 22 April 2024
- A report published on Seal populations in the North-Atlantic, Arctic Ocean and adjacent waters
- Feedback provided to the European Commission's public consultation on the general ban on placing seal products on the EU market
- Final report to AG fish
The project finished in 2024.