Seal Conservationists from the Balkans on Germany’s Offshore Island
A maritime adventure: The small ferry takes us from Heligoland’s main island to the dune, just under a kilometre away. At the end of February, hundreds of Germany’s biggest marine mammal, the grey seal, are gathered there. And we will come very close to them...
We, that is a total of ten seal experts and conservationists from Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, and Greece as well as from EuroNatur, all partners in the Eastern Adriatic Monk Seal Project (EAMSP). Why this year’s partner gathering is happening on the wintry North Sea of all places, which is about as far away from the monk seals of the Mediterranean as Heligoland mentality from la dolce vita? Quite simply because the field trip offers the project partners from Southeast Europe completely new approaches for their work protecting the rare Mediterranean monk seals.
Shivering and marvelling
It is a cloudy morning with a bitter northeast wind. After crossing the choppy sea, the seal conservationists from Southeast Europe are grappling with the next inclemencies of northern German nature. Some are shivering in too thin coats on the beach of the dune, hoods pulled low over their faces. But I see their eyes sparkling with excitement: the sight of Heligoland’s grey seals casts a spell over us all.
The interest appears strictly one-sided, though. They grey seals are in no way deterred by our presence. The marine mammals are used to the presence of humans on the dune off Heligoland, they continue their midmorning nap unperturbed. Things are different during the seals’ pupping season in December and January. Whoever does not keep the minimum distance of 30 metres then may have to deal with aggressive seal moms defending their offspring. The seemingly clumsy animals can move surprisingly fast on land and no one should get between a pup and its mother.
South Atlantic atmosphere
A young grey seal has made itself comfortable behind us. Now it is marvelling at the two-legged visitors on the beach.
Sabina Cano of our Albanian partner organisation PPNEA is retreating slowly after we have spotted the seal. The animal shows no shyness, only interest.
Now, at the end of February and with the pupping season over, the scene looks very peaceful. Deeply relaxed, the grey seals are lying on the fine sand, occasionally scratching their faces with the sharp claws of their fins, rolling from one side to the other. A subdued yelping and whimpering is floating across from the colony, from time to time some specimens are puffing out loudly through their noses. Only when a seal is crawling out of the sea onto the shore, looking for a convenient resting place, a touch of unrest comes over the large colony. Then, a neighbour disturbing the siesta might be snapped at. Herring gulls and lesser black-backed gulls are stalking between the seal bodies, sanderlings and purple sandpipers are looking for food in the surf, unimpressed by the large marine mammals.
Suddenly Kostandin Xhaho, one of our Albanian partners, is pointing excitedly behind us. Hidden behind a sanddrift, far away from waves and conspecifics, a young grey seal is putting its elongated head above the drift. Although this specimen, too, is at least a metre in size, we had all overlooked it at first. We have not kept the minimum distance of 30 metres in this case and slowly retreat. It is nice to see the seal eyeing us curiously, but without any apparent fear. It seems like an encounter on equal terms between two equally surprised and at once curious species.
Seals in the North Sea and the Baltic
Different weight classes
Peacefully united: a grey seal on the left, with harbour seals lying close to it.
In Germany’s coastal waters, both common seals and grey seals can be observed. Both species are related and, together with the monk seals, belong to the family of earless seals or true seals (in contrast to eared seals). With a little practice, common seals can be distinguished easily from grey seals: the latter have an elongated head and are significantly larger: weighing up to 300 kilogrammes, the grey seal is Germany’s biggest predator. After having been on the brink of extinction in German coastal waters, the grey seal has made a vigorous comeback in recent years, thanks to strict conservation measures. Last winter, 800 pups were born on Heligoland’s dune – more than ever before since records began!
Differences in rearing the young
A very young grey seal in its white lanugo fur. This picture took place 6 in the 2019 EuroNatur photo competition.
Rearing their young is completely different for both species. While common seals give birth on sandbanks in the North Sea in summer and their pups have to be able to swim at the next high tide, grey seals are dependent on quiet stretches of beach. They give birth to their pups in winter. The white, thick lanugo fur of the young grey seals protects them from the wind and cold, but it is not waterproof. They can only survive in North Sea water after their change of coat. Thus, common seals and grey seals mostly avoid each other, which is also safer for the common seals. Occasionally, the markedly bigger grey seals eat their smaller relatives.
Exchange on a sandy beach …
For a brief moment, the sun breaks through the clouds and casts long shadows on the sandy beach - the discussion is briefly interrupted and everyone stretches their faces towards the sun.
After wandering slightly excited around the beach and observing the seals each on our own – I can’t help thinking of a seaside holiday with children –, the conservationists from the Balkans, my colleague Lisa Leschinski and I form a semicircle. With our backs to the wind, we are defying the cold and can more easily share our impressions.
“Getting so close to the animals in the wild is absolutely fantastic,” says Ante Kodžoman of Biom. “In Croatia, we can only dream of this so far.” There, quite far north in the Adriatic, only a few monk seals have shown themselves as yet. And even if the “monks” were to return there soon, such spectacular observations as on Heligoland’s dune would hardly be possible. Monk seals are shy, retreating for the birth of their young into pupping caves. Delivery on beaches, once utterly typical also for monk seals, has been entirely given up by the marine mammals due to them being hunted and today’s masses of tourists on the beaches.
Mass tourism comes with further threats to the “monks,” as becomes clear in the course of the conversation. “The seals are driven out of their pupping caves by curious divers, the illegal concrete buildings on the beaches of the Adriatic are increasing, the sea is being polluted in tourist strongholds,” says Odysseus Paximos of our Greek partner organisation MOm, which played an advisory role in the project in recent years but which will not be part of the follow-up project.
Yoga session on the beach? Grey seals and common seals (pictured here) are amazingly flexible.
We were far away from Mediterranean-like vacation crowds on this February morning in the middle of the North Sea, in fact, we even were the only people on the beach so far. Now, we see a figure in the distance slowly approaching us. Tightly wrapped up in wellies, a windproof jacket and woolly hat, it is frequently pulling out its binoculars and counting the seals. Lisa addresses the woman, who introduces herself as one of Heligoland’s rangers. Her name is Maren Becker and she is going about her daily work, counting seals. This job is becoming more intensive year by year, because the population is increasing. Nowadays in winter, in the pupping season and during moulting, it is almost getting a bit crowded on the roughly one kilometre long beach. The return of the seals is accompanied by certain restrictions for the locals and guests on the island. Since 2021, a metal fence during pupping season ensures the safety of humans and animals during observations of the seal nursery.
“That doesn’t suit everybody here on the island,” Maren Becker reports, who is slightly surprised about the international visitor group on Heligoland but readily answers the questions of our project partners. “The island population was evacuated at the end of the Second World War and only allowed to return to their island years later. That there are new restrictions of movement now touches old traumas,” explains Becker. But acceptance among the Heligolanders is growing. “By citizen participation, an ongoing communication process and a joint search for solutions, we have succeeded in creating trust. In addition, the people on Heligoland realise that the presence of the large marine mammals attracts tourists and hence brings in money. Many come here expressly for the grey seals, and in the off-season these visits are very welcome sources of income,” says Maren Becker.
Heligoland has a unique position in Germany: no other spot of land is located so far off the German North Sea coast. Often Heligoland is called Germany’s only deep-sea island, but strictly speaking this is incorrect, both legally (Heligoland lies within the standard territoral sea of 12 nautical miles) and geographically (Heligoland is located on the continental shelf). With its tidal rock flats and Lummen cliff, nature around the island made of red sandstone and roughly one square kilometre in size is spectacular, nonetheless: it is the only German breeding ground for offshore birds like guillemots, razorbills or gannets.
At the time of our stay, at the end of February, the latter’s mating season has already begun. If seabirds are one’s main area of interest, a visit to Heligoland between mid-March and mid-June is best, with all species being fully into their breeding season by then.
Visitors to the island lying approximately 40 kilometres off the German North Sea coast have many options to get there in summer. Several North Sea ports offer ferry or catamaran crossings. which take two to three hours. On a clear day, you can while away that time splendidly by watching seabirds. In winter, there is only one ferry running from Cuxhaven. Take care: choppy seas can make your stomach feel a bit queasy … Heligoland can also be reached via plane; Germany’s smallest airport is located on Heligoland’s dune.
Chatting in the fishermen’s parlour
Water caves are not actually the favoured place for monk seals to give birth to their pups. But due to the crowds of tourists on the beaches, the seals have moved here. By now, the caves (like this one on Corfu) are also becoming increasingly popular with tourists.
Over dinner in Heligoland’s only open restaurant at this time of year, our project partners continue the exchange. In the cosy Fishermen’s Parlour, which feels as if sailor’s yarn is still being spun here, we discuss the question whether the seal conservationists from the Balkans can learn something from the Wadden Sea National Park.
“It is intriguing to see how conservation works in a wealthy country like Germany,” says Kostandin Xhaho of PPNEA. “In Albania, we have some marine protected areas, but no functioning management. The failure is not so much one of good will as of capacities.” Albania is the country on the eastern Adriatic coast with the most monk seal sightings on its shores to date. The Karaburun-Sazan Marine National Park even has one of the rare marine mammals in its logo. But to ensure the return of the “monks” in the long run here, pupping caves are needed in whose shelter seal mothers can give birth and rear their young. What’s more, if the development plans for the last natural beach sections of the Adriatic country should be realised, the prospects for a return of the monk seals would look bleak, anyway (see also page 10).
By now the food is on the table; many of our partners have chosen lobster bisque. This is a Heligoland delicacy and warms from the inside after the long day in the fresh North Sea air. Kostandin Xhaho continues: “During our research, we have located 15 water caves. Many of the caves are used for diving tourism, while others serve as hiding places for trafficking, for example in drugs.” This actually sounds like a sailor’s yarn to me, but Kostandin is not telling fairy tales. “In one of the caves, traffickers have even destroyed one of our wildlife cameras. Since then, I mount the cameras in even more inaccessible places,” says the Albanian seal conservationist. Kostandin is an alpinist and knows how to abseil safely. Nobody in our group had as much puff left as he did after climbing the 184 steps between Heligoland’s upland and lowland.
While the weather was gloomy, the atmosphere was excellent: partners from all four EAMSP countries
As the evening in Heligoland’s Fishermen’s Parlour is drawing to a close, everyone becomes a little wistful. Tomorrow, the ferry will take us back to the mainland, and although the voyage to Heligoland was only a short trip, our partners from Southeast Europe have come to appreciate the North Sea island. And they take away a lot of inspiration for their work protecting the monk seal.
“We have learnt a lot on this trip, including how conflicts between monk seals and humans can be prevented. The idea of temporarily closed-off areas where the animals can rest sounds like a good compromise,” says Ksenija Medenica of CZIP in Montenegro. “We need to get the population on board and show them the economic benefits the return of the seals can bring. Then our measures to ensure the permanent settlement of monk seals also in Montenegrin coastal waters will be successful in the long term,” Ksenija is convinced.
In conservation, it is important to keep seeing beyond one’s own nose and to learn from each other. The positive development of the grey seal’s population in the North Sea and the Baltic is quite similar to that of the Mediterranean monk seal in the Aegean and the Adriatic – including all challenges and difficulties. That we were able to promote knowledge exchange within our collaboration was a very special experience for everyone involved.
Lisa Leschinski, EuroNatur’s monk seal project manager
For the author of this article, the trip to Heligoland was also a kind of return. In late autumn 2007, Christian Stielow did a six weeks internship at the island’s ornithological station. At that time, he made his first acquaintance with grey seals. Now, he was very pleased to find their numbers considerably increased.
