Vol. 549 No. 4
231 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands the estimated seal population which migrates from Scotland to the Inishkea Islands off the north County Mayo coast on an annual basis; the management proposals she has under the relevant Wildlife Acts; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6945/02]
While it is known that some seals of the estimated 100,000 grey seals which may live on the offshore Islands of Scotland migrate to Irish waters, there is no scientific data to show how many seals migrate annually to the Inishkea islands. Grey seals spend most of the year dispersed at sea where they are, in effect, uncountable and, historically, little research has been carried out on the population levels of grey seals around the Irish coast. Seal pups tagged at breeding sites in Scotland and other countries are frequently sighted in Irish waters. I understand a report published by an Bord Iascaigh Mhara in July 2001 on grey seal interactions in Irish coastal waters reported that a seal pup tagged on the Inishkea islands as part of the study was spotted in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland some 60 days after tagging and some 360 kilometres from the Inishkea Islands. This indicates that the seal migration dynamics are complex and any population management proposals must reflect this.
Seals are protected under the Wildlife Act, 1976 as amended. Section 42 of the Act enables me to permit, where serious damage is being done by seals to a fishery, the control of seals in individual cases. I note that of ten permissions issued in 2001 by my Department to control damage by seals, three related to Mayo and the one permission issued to date in 2002 to control seals also related to the Mayo area. While calls are made from time to time by fishing interests to control seal populations, I have no current plans to manage the seal population on the Inishkea islands. Any proposals to actively manage seal populations would have to be addressed in a regional context and with due regard to my statutory responsibilities for the conservation and protection of seals under the Wildlife Acts.
