130925-studie-wildlife-comeback-in-europe

east coast, the distribution is restricted to major
estuaries, such as the Thames, The Wash, Firth of
Tay (where it is declining) and the Moray Firth [3] .
The UK population was also greatly affected by the
PDV epidemic in 1988, while the second outbreak
in 2002 was less severe, with its effects restricted
to southeast England [3] . It was only by 2010 that
seal numbers in the Southeast had started to
recover to pre-epidemic levels [3] . Whilst harvesting
ended in the early 1970s in England and Wales [3] ,
the Conservation of Seals Act 1970 permits the
shooting of Harbour seals for the protection of
fisheries, but offers some protection during the
breeding and moulting periods [25] . Following
the 1988 PDV outbreak, Harbour and Grey seals
(Halichoerus grypus) were protected year-round
on the east coast of England [26] . Seals in Scotland
can only be shot under licence from the Scottish
Government [27] , while in Northern Ireland they are
fully protected [28] .
Another large population occurs in the
Wadden Sea [3] . Once abundant (38,000 animals in
1900 [9] ), it was hunted up until the 20 th century [9] .
Following a reduction in exploitation levels and
increased habitat protection in the second half
of the 20 th century, the Harbour seal recovered
from 3,000 individuals in 1974 to more than
15,000 in 2003 [13] . This population, along with the
Kattegat population, was heavily affected by the
PDV outbreaks in 1988 and 2002, which reduced
it by up to 50%, although it was able to recover
after both events [29] . Since 1978, the Netherlands,
Denmark and Germany have been collaborating
on the protection and conservation of the species
to address management, monitoring, research and
political matters [30] , which has resulted in detailed
conservation management plans [31–33] . In 2011,
the Wadden Sea population was estimated to be
24,000 [13] .
There are concerns for populations in Svalbard
and the Baltic Sea. Historically, the Harbour
seal has always been much rarer than other seal
species [34] and numbers are low in both locations [14] .
It increased during the 19 th century, reaching
a maximum in 1905 [34] , which was followed by
a rapid decrease to a few hundred individuals
by 1960 due to Swedish bounty hunting [35] and
pollution [34] . The nearby Skagerrak/Kattegat
population, which is actually considered to be part
of the North Sea population, has been affected by
three mass mortality events: by PDV in 1988 and
2002 [12] and an unknown pathogen in 2007 [36] . The
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