October 22, 2026 — In the North Sea, commercial pelagic trawlers and seals both forage for some of the same fish stocks, creating a dynamic that can pose operational, regulatory, and conservation challenges.
To mitigate the issue, fishing industry groups have teamed up with fishing gear firms to develop and adapt excluder devices, aiming to reduce seal captures in the region’s sandeel and herring fisheries, as well as bycatch of other species.