EU grants €5.3m for Saimaa Seal protection

The Saimaa Seal LIFE project got a grant of EUR 5.3 million to prevent and reduce problems caused by climate change, fishing, human disturbance and the small size of the population to the Saimaa ringed seals, said a recent press release of Metsähallitus.

The total budget of Saimaa Seal LIFE project is EUR 7.1 million, of which EU funding accounts for EUR 5.3 million. The project also receives funding from the Ministry of the Environment, the Regional Council of South Karelia, the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE), the Nestor Foundation and the Raija and Ossi Tuuliainen Foundation.

The project plan also includes actions to improve the life of the seal population in the Archipelago Sea.

“Although the Saimaa ringed seal has been under protection for a long time, further action is needed. The species is still very endangered and its population is very vulnerable. The latest winter was mild which made it difficult for the seals to nest, and it led to numerous deaths of seal pups. Human activity, from disturbance to deaths through fishing, also threatens the seal. It is important to develop new ways to protect the seal population,” said Krista Mikkonen, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change.

The project will improve awareness of the protection of the Saimaa ringed seal, and the aim is to have more conservation measures accepted; in addition, various tools, processes and operating methods will be developed and implemented. The goals of the project include the continued development of seal-safe fish traps, and efforts will be made to develop a seal-safe fyke net for recreational fishers, and monitoring of fishing restrictions will be improved together with the owners of water areas.

The Saimaa ringed seal is one of the most endangered and rarest seals in the world. Thanks to long-term conservation measures, more than 400 seals live in Saimaa today, but the threat of extinction is still serious. Metsähallitus is responsible for monitoring and protecting the Saimaa ringed seal population and is committed to protecting the seal on state-owned land.