Supporting The Mammal Society’s UK Seal Monitoring Initiative

The IMarEST Marine Mammals Special Interest Group (MMSIG) is part of The Mammal Society’s Seals Research Working Group and is supporting the development of a United Kingdom nationally scalable, year-round citizen science framework for grey and harbour seal monitoring across the UK. We are sharing this invitation on behalf of Afrika Priestley and The Mammal Society and encourage MARMAM members involved in seal research, monitoring, or management to contribute.

Many thanks,

Niru Dorrian 

MMSIG Co-Chair 

Message from Afrika Priestley (The Mammal Society):

Hello,

The Mammal Society’s Seals Research Working Group is developing a nationally scalable, year-round citizen science framework to strengthen the consistency, coverage, and comparability of grey and harbour seal monitoring across the UK. This work is designed to build on and connect the strong statutory and regional programmes already in place, bringing efforts together where it is useful and adding value by improving understanding of population change, seasonal haul-out use, and movement ecology of UK seals. Through this, the aim is to strengthen evidence-based conservation practice and future research, support public engagement and stewardship, and inform conservation management and policy decisions.

By improving coverage across seasons and regions, particularly outside pupping and moulting periods, the project aims to increase confidence in trend and impact assessment over a three-to-five-year timeframe.

To support this work, a short questionnaire is being shared to build a clearer picture of seal monitoring activity and priorities across the UK, and to understand where shared standards, support, or clearer data pathways could strengthen and connect existing efforts. This is a practical scoping exercise to help The Mammal Society gather the context needed to develop the framework in a way that is useful, realistic, and shaped by the people already doing the work.

As a small thank-you for completing the questionnaire, we will be running a prize draw (winners selected at random):

Responses are welcome from local UK monitoring groups, NGOs, academics, statutory bodies, consultants, and relevant industry partners who are currently involved in monitoring seals in the UK or planning to do so. Completing the questionnaire does not commit you to any future involvement.

Questionnaire link: Mammal Society – UK Seals Research and Monitoring Initiative – Fill in form

The questionnaire will close on 16 February 2026. A webinar will be held on 1 May at 12:00 to share key findings and provide an update on proposed next steps for anyone who opts in to future contact.

If you have any questions, please get in touch at Afrika@mammal.org.uk 

Afrika Priestley (she/her)
Data & Research Officer
Mammal Society

https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=JGpXruDqzEywiGZytGMbQG6RocBCIXpNtZYNdI77KENURjIzMVhUNEJONlBYWFpPMFZRQ1A3OUNENS4u&route=shorturl

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Niru Dorrian CMarSci CSci FIMarEST FBES Ambassador to the UN Ocean Decade IMarEST 1 Birdcage Walk London,  SW1H 9JJ Tel:  +44 7888747719 Ocean.Decade@imarest.org