The demand for seal-safe fishing gear is growing with the rising population of seals in Sweden. Coastal and small-scale fishing in Sweden has fallen in recent decades as a result of several factors; mainly an increase in the seal population, threats to fish species, and logistical problems. The growing number of seals has done much damage to fish and to fishing gear.
Sara Königson, of the Department of Marine Ecology at the University of Gothenburg, said that some alternative seal-safe fishing gear is commercially available, developed in collaboration between scientists and the fishing industry. She has studied seals and the fishing industry at the Institute of Coastal Research of the Swedish Board of Fisheries.
Some seals have learned to hunt at the push-up trap that has been developed for the small-scale fishing of salmon and whitefish in the Baltic. Despite this, damage caused by seals has not been fully eliminated. These seals returned to the site over a long period. Small-scale fishing with pots is another example of a sensitive fishing technique that can be protected from attack by seals.
