Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU)

NERC has statutory obligations under the Conservation of Seals Act (1970) and the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 to provide the UK government and devolved administrations with scientific advice on the management and conservation of its seal populations. This legislation is the means by which the UK strives to ensure its seal populations, both the grey and harbour (also known as common) seal, are not adversely affected by human activities in the marine environment. Seals have often come into conflict with humans, particularly in relation to fisheries but also increasingly with respect to other marine activities such as the development of marine renewable energy and major infrastructure projects. In conjunction with other statutory obligations, particularly the EU Habitats Directive and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, the UK government and devolved administrations must ensure these listed species enjoy a 'favourable conservation status' and understanding their population trends and the drivers of change help determine whether the UK seas are in 'good environmental status'. In order to meet these requirements, NERC tasks the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) with addressing the questions it receives about the status of the populations and the drivers of population change from UK government each year.

To achieve this SMRU carries out a programme of monitoring to determine the population status and trends of both species of UK seal. In addition it conducts underpinning scientific research to understand the effect of different marine activities and developments on population growth rates and the survival and reproductive capacity of the two seal species. It also assists in finding ways to mitigate any negative impacts. UK government also needs to understand the natural factors that cause population trends to change and to determine when species may have reached the limits to their growth. In close consultation with government agencies and statutory nature conservation bodies, SMRU responds to the emerging issues relating to seal conservation and provides innovative ways to understand the movements, at-sea behaviour, population structure and impact of natural and man-made factors on their populations at a regional management level.

The impact of our NC-NPG science will be evident in the utility of our response to the questions to NERC from UK government and the devolved administrations on seal conservation and management issues and therefore the ability of these customers to act on the scientific advice we provide. The customers (the Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies, Government Departments such as Defra, BEIS and Marine Scotland, the Marine Management Organisation and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee) interact with SMRU to develop priorities and to ensure the work continues to be both relevant and timely for policy makers and stakeholders. SMRU provides annually the Potential Biological Removals figures on a regional basis for both species of seal, which are critical for Marine Scotland to manage the seal populations based on their status and trends within the Seal Management Units. SMRU will also continue to be a statutory consultee for all licence applications to shoot seals in Scotland. These functions fulfill a critical role in relation to the requirements of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010.

In addition, over the next two years SMRU will be involved in a new marine mammal population overall assessment process for the Scottish Government. Under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 the Scottish Government must prepare an assessment of Scottish seals prior to developing a new National Marine Plan. The statutory review cycle is 5 years so the final review is due in March 2020. This will include adjustments that need to be made so that geographical assessments are in line with the new statutory Scottish Marine Regions.

Thus our ability to provide robust information on, for example, the size and status of UK seal populations and conservation/management options at regional and national levels, the impacts of marine spatial planning and exploitation of the marine environment, the determination of marine protected areas, knowledge to assist in sustainable fisheries management, and the impacts of marine pollution and climate change have all been critical for government policy development and marine planning capacity. This will continue over the next five years as our advice and innovative approach will be tailored to the needs and emerging issues of the customers.

Much of SMRU's advice to customers is underpinned by its Instrumentation Group's (SMRU-IG) continued development of electronic tags. These provide the vital link between at-sea foraging activity and terrestrial haulout sites. This technology has been exported to institutions in many other countries where there is a similar need to provide operational and policy advice to regulators. However, the impact of this technology extends further. Worldwide use of these tags has revolutionised the application of animal borne sensor data to ocean modelling, in addition to providing the means to carry out fundamental research in seal biology.