Action Plan: Common Seal

The common seal (Phoca vitulina) is the most widely distributed member of the scientific family. There are thought to be about 400,000-500,000 individuals in the world which inhabit the waters of the north Atlantic and north Pacific Oceans. Common seals vary in colour from brown, grey or tan, with a uniform pattern of small darker patches. The species is fairly evenly distributed around the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland, except for regions where there are extensive cliffs. It is most commonly seen on the east coast of England, western Scotland and the northern isles.

In 1988 over 17,000 common seals died during a disease outbreak in the North Sea. Seals on the coast of Denmark and Holland were worst affected. About 3,000 deaths occurred in the British population. The disease is now known to be caused by the newly discovered phocine distemper virus, but its origin is unknown. Similar epidemics have periodically affected common seals in the past, suggesting that the 1988 plague was a natural phenomenon and that little could have been done to prevent it. Following the 1988 seal plague, common seals in England, Wales and Scotland were given year-round protection until populations had returned to satisfactory levels.