Increased Incidence of Entanglements and Ingested Marine Debris in Dutch Seals from 2010 to 2020

In recent decades, the amount of marine debris has increased in our oceans. As wildlife interactions with debris increase, so does the number of entangled animals, impairing normal behavior and potentially affecting the survival of these individuals. The current study summarizes data on two phocid species, harbor ( Phoca vitulina ) and gray seals ( Halichoerus grypus ), affected by marine debris in Dutch waters from 2010 to 2020. The findings indicate that the annual entanglement rate (13.2 entanglements/year) has quadrupled compared with previous studies. Young seals, particularly gray seals,... Mehr ...