How are UK seals doing?
A mixed picture: grey seals have met Good Environmental Status in the latest UK Marine Strategy update; harbour seals have not, in the Greater North Sea.
Grey seals
The IUCN Red List assesses the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) as Least Concern globally, with an increasing population trend. IUCN Red List: Grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) · checked 5 Nov 2026 UK grey seal pup production in 2022/23 was estimated at about 79,122 — the highest total on the SCOS record — with over 70% of those pups in Scotland. SCOS scientific advice on UK seal populations (2025 report) · checked 5 Nov 2026
The UK Marine Strategy 2026 update says Good Environmental Status has been met for grey seals, but harbour seals have not yet achieved it in the Greater North Sea and are declining in places such as north-east Scotland and south-east England. UK Marine Strategy part one update 2026 · checked 5 Nov 2026
Harbour seals
The European IUCN assessment for the harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) is Least Concern, though some local populations are of concern. IUCN Red List: Harbour seal European assessment · checked 5 Nov 2026 NAMMCO notes the harbour seal as Least Concern on the global IUCN Red List, with a very large worldwide population, while stressing that local stocks can be stable, increasing or declining. NAMMCO: Harbour seal · checked 5 Nov 2026
Based on surveys between about 2016 and 2023, SCOS estimates the total UK harbour seal population at about 36,956 (95% confidence interval about 30,200–49,300). SCOS scientific advice on UK seal populations (2025 report) · checked 5 Nov 2026 SCOS reports that harbour seal numbers are declining and/or depleted in most UK Seal Monitoring Units with notable numbers. SCOS scientific advice on UK seal populations (2025 report) · checked 5 Nov 2026
NatureScot’s 2021–2025 August surveys, scaled by haul-out probability, estimate about 27,750 harbour seals and about 63,800 grey seals in Scotland. NatureScot Research Report 1421: aerial surveys of seals in Scotland 2021–2025 · checked 5 Nov 2026
- NatureScot’s 2021–2025 August surveys, scaled by haul-out probability, estimate about 27,750 harbour seals and about 63,800 grey seals in Scotland. NatureScot Research Report 1421: aerial surveys of seals in Scotland 2021–2025 · checked 5 Nov 2026
- Based on surveys between about 2016 and 2023, SCOS estimates the total UK harbour seal population at about 36,956 (95% confidence interval about 30,200–49,300). SCOS scientific advice on UK seal populations (2025 report) · checked 5 Nov 2026
- UK grey seal pup production in 2022/23 was estimated at about 79,122 — the highest total on the SCOS record — with over 70% of those pups in Scotland. SCOS scientific advice on UK seal populations (2025 report) · checked 5 Nov 2026
NatureScot’s scaled August counts and SCOS’s UK composites cover different years and methods; do not treat them as one number. Every disagreement we found →
Bycatch
SCOS reports hundreds of seals bycaught in UK fisheries each year (around 400–600 in recent estimates), with many of those young grey seals in south-west waters. SCOS scientific advice on UK seal populations (2025 report) · checked 5 Nov 2026
The law
In the UK, seals are protected under the Conservation of Seals Act 1970 and, in Scotland, the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010; NERC’s Special Committee on Seals (SCOS) advises government on their management. SCOS scientific advice on UK seal populations (2025 report)
Watching without harm
A lone seal pup on a beach is often waiting for its mother. Keep your distance, keep dogs away, and call a local rescue if the pup looks injured or is in clear danger — do not put it back in the sea yourself. Natural History Museum: Seals in the UK
Support the scientists who count seals — the Sea Mammal Research Unit at St Andrews — and local rescues that respond when a seal is truly in trouble.