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arose approximately 4.000 years ago as grey seals adapted to
different marine environments in the two regions. We further
found that the historic Danish grey seal stock mainly consisted
of animals from the Baltic Sea subspecies, whereas the animals
currently recolonising Danish waters come from the North Sea
and the Baltic Sea, and likely mix in southern Denmark. If the
protection of grey seals continues, the population increase will
continue, and with time the grey seal may again become the
most abundant species in Denmark. While this likely leads to
increased conflicts with fisheries, it could also provide a founda-
tion for development of nature-oriented tourism, such as seal-
watching.
Modsatte side:
Gråsæler på skæret Tat ved Christiansø, november 2011.
Foto: Morten Tange Olsen.
Litteraturliste
• Fietz K., Galatius A., Teilmann J, Dietz R., Frie A. K., Klimova A., Palsbøll P., Jensen L. F.,
Graves J., Hoffman J., Olsen M. .T: Shift of grey seal subspecies boundaries in response
to climate, culling and conservation.
Molecular Ecology
, 25(17), 2006, s. 4097-4112.
• Galatius A., Olsen M. T., Teilmann J.: Konflikter mellem sæler og fiskeri i Danmark
– baggrund og studier i sælers biologi og interaktioner med fiskeriet. Aarhus
Universitet, DCE – Nationalt Center for Miljø og Energi,
Videnskabelig Rapport fra DCE,
2016, s. 184.
• Härkönen T., Brasseur S., Teilmann J., et al.: Status of grey seals along mainland
Europe from Southwestern Baltic to France.
NAMMCO Scientific Publications
, 6, 2007,
s. 57-68.
• Møhl, U.: Fangstdyrene ved De Danske Strande. Den zoologiske baggrund for harpu-
nerne.
Årbog for Jysk Arkæologisk Selskab
, 1971, s. 297-329.
• Olsen M. T., Galatius A.: Sælerne ved Christiansø.
Natur på Bornholm
, 12, 2014, s. 2-8.
• Søndergaard N-O., Joensen A. H., Hansen E. B.: Sæler i Danmark.
Danske Vildtundersø-
gelser
, Hæfte 26, 1976.
Summary
Ten years ago the grey seal was a rare sight in Denmark. Now
it has returned, to the joy of nature enthusiast, but grievance
to e.g. fishermen experiencing increased damage to catch and
gear. This chapter describes the history of grey seals in Den-
mark, how they disappeared, their return, and the likely effects
on tourism, fisheries and the marine ecosystem. The oldest
grey seal subfossil remains date back at least 9.000 years, and
for much of the Danish prehistory and history it was likely the
most dominate seal species in Danish waters. However, in the
mid and late 19
th
century pressure from the growing fishing in-
dustry led to the establishment of a national bounty system for
eradicating seals and minimizing their impact on the fisheries.
The system lasted until 1927, resulting in the culling of close to
10.000 grey seals, and the disappearance of the grey seal as a
breeding species in Danish waters. The grey seal was listed as a
protected species in 1967, and the total “Danish” population can
now be counted in the hundreds, although only very few pups
are born in Danish waters. Recently, we completed a study us-
ing DNA from historic seal skulls and recent grey seal colonisers
to examine the genetic composition of grey seals in Denmark
before the bounty period and today. We found that the two
subspecies in the North Sea and Baltic Sea, respectively, likely