Cornwall Seal Group

Cornwall Seal Group is a team of volunteers who monitor the status of seals around the Cornish coast.  The group first met in February 2004 and currently has 32 members, who meet once every two months. A digital identification photo album of seals has been built up since June 2000 and is now being shared. Members of the public are encouraged to send in their photos of seals for the group to identify. Identification out in the field requires considerable patience, creativity and a commitment to regular (and often lengthy) visits to local cliff tops!

Grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) photograph by Sue Sayer

The aims of the seal group are to:

1. Enjoy ourselves and have fun!
2. Reduce disturbance of seals around the Cornish coast
3. Carry out digital photo identification work on individual seals
4. Learn more about the seals through regular cliff top observation work
5. Link all interested parties and inform more about the seals
6. Collect and centralise resources, information, articles and news about Grey Seals
7. Seek and secure funding to support the group’s activities

Cornwall Seal Group photograph by Sue Sayer

Sue Sayer, who initiated the group, tells us a bit about her seal watching:

“I tend to go out to watch the seals at the weekends, on holidays and after work in the summer. I aim to build up a comprehensive picture of one seal colony that I visit regularly. I want to become familiar with the intricate patterns in the lives of the seals at this location and to gather some basic data in an attempt to begin to explain the patterns and behaviours I observe. A cornerstone of my work is the ability to identify individual seals. Every grey seal has a unique set of markings on its coat, which it keeps for most of its adult life, despite moulting its fur completely on an annual basis”.

If you would like more information about grey seals or the work of this group, please visit the Cornwall Seal Group website or contact Sue Sayer.

Please report any sightings of seals to Seaquest Southwest via our online reporting system.

All marine strandings require urgent attention, whether dead or alive. If you come across a dead seal please contact one of our marine strandings emergency contacts.

If you find a seal pup on its own, please DO NOT attempt to touch it. The presence of a seal pup on the beach does not necessarily mean the pup is in trouble. It is essential to keep out of sight, watch for Mum.  If you are concerned, check our page “What to do if you find a seal pup” for more advice.

Grey seal and pup photograph by Sue Sayer

Cornwall Seal Group : Achievements to date

The Cornwall Seal Group have shown that :-

Grey Seals at a north coast haul out can come from Porspoder in Brittany in France (Red Tag 52693.)

Grey seals visiting a north coast haul out can come from all around the Cornish coast. One seal (DP41) swam from a north coast haul out to Porth Joke and back over a 13 day period during September 2003. Another seal took 10 days to swim from Falmouth to a north coast haul out (Yellow hat 08).

One seal swam from a north coast haul out to South Wales and back between May and July 2005.

The first confirmed and recorded Common Seal in Cornwall was sighted at a north coast haul out on 09/07/05 (Source Cornwall Wildlife Trust website).

Grey seals from a north coast haul out have been observed and identified in 9 other locations around the Cornish Coast.

10 seals have been observed at a north coast haul out and Porth Joke on the north coast of Cornwall (Thanks to Bex Allen).

3 seals have been observed at both a north coast haul out & the Carracks (west of St Ives) (Thanks to Dan Jarvis).

A catalogue of around 450 different seals have been identified at a north coast haul out and 227 different identified seals visited a north coast haul out between 14/04/05 and 15/04/06.

National Seal Sanctuary seals survive after release back into the wild. (2 seals released in 2001, 3 seals released in 2002, 2 seals released in 2003, 5 seals released in 2004, 5 seals released in 2005 and 3 seals released in 2006 have been seen at a north coast haul out.)
There is no static colony of seals at a north coast haul out, although seals have been seen at a north coast haul out every month since June 2000. This site acts as a 'service station' on the seal motorway linking the Celtic Fringe. Some seals :-

• can be seen there for several months of the year every year from 2000. (Semi residents)
• can be seen there a few times every year from 2000. (Regulars)
• are only seen once or twice. (Migrants)

Net entanglement percentages for seals at a north coast haul out are higher than the national average of 2%. Our figures indicate that around 4% to 8.3% of seals seen at a north coast haul out have some form of net entanglement, much of which involves discarded netting.

Most seals visiting a north coast haul out are males (60%) with 28% females and 12% juveniles.

Breeding females have shown site fidelity for up to 3 years running and the Beachmaster had shown site fidelity for 2 years running.

Seal Group Members have called out 6 successful rescues for net entangled or malnourished seal pups from the haul out beach.

The Seal Group has collaborated with Cornwall County Council and the Cornwall Wildlife Trust to produce a St Ives Bay version of the Marine Code of Conduct, aimed at reducing the levels of disturbance for all marine creatures.

Marine Code of Conduct - pdf format 469kb