Editing Grey seal (section)

==Status==
After near extirpation from hunting grey seals for oil, meat, and skins in the United States, sightings began to increase in the late 1980s. Bounties were paid on all kinds of seals up until 1945 in [[Maine]] and 1962 in [[Massachusetts]].<ref name=Lelli>{{cite journal |title=Seal Bounties in Maine and Massachusetts, 1888 to 1962 |author=Barbara Lelli |author2=David E. Harris |author3=AbouEl-Makarim Aboueissa |name-list-style=amp |journal=Northeastern Naturalist |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=239–254 |year=2009 |doi=10.1656/045.016.0206|s2cid=85652019 }}</ref> One year after Congress passed the 1972 [[Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972|Marine Mammal Protection Act]] preventing the harming or harassing of seals, a survey of the entire Maine coast found only 30 grey seals.<ref name=Lelli/> At first grey seal populations increased slowly but then rebounded from islands off Maine to [[Monomoy Island]] and [[Nantucket Island]] off of southern [[Cape Cod]]. The southernmost breeding colony was established on [[Muskeget Island]] with five pups born in 1988 and over 2,000 counted in 2008.<ref name=Wood/> According to a genetics study, the United States population has formed as a result of recolonisation by Canadian seals.<ref name=Wood>{{cite journal |title=The genetics of recolonization: an analysis of the stock structure of grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) in the northwest Atlantic |journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology |year=2011 |volume=89 |issue=6 |pages=490–497 |doi=10.1139/z11-012|last1=Wood |first1=S.A. |last2=Frasier |first2=T.R. |last3=McLeod |first3=B.A. |last4=Gilbert |first4=J.R. |last5=White |first5=B.N. |last6=Bowen |first6=W.D. |last7=Hammill |first7=M.O. |last8=Waring |first8=G.T. |last9=Brault |first9=S. |bibcode=2011CaJZ...89..490W }}</ref> By 2009, thousands of grey seals had taken up residence on or near popular swimming beaches on outer Cape Cod, resulting in sightings of [[great white shark]]s drawn close to shore to hunt the seals.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2009/10/03/gray_seals_haul_out_to_new_england_waters_again/ |title=Once again, coastal waters getting seals' approval |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |date=3 October 2009 |last1=Daley |first1=Beth}}</ref> A count of 15,756 grey seals in southeastern Massachusetts coastal waters was made in 2011 by the [[National Marine Fisheries Service]].<ref>{{cite report |title=Gray Seal (Halichoerus grypus grypus): Western North Atlantic Stock |date=April 2014 |publisher=NMFS, NOAA |pages=342–350 |url=http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/sars/2013/ao2013_grayseal-wna.pdf |access-date=2015-06-15 }}</ref> Grey seals are being seen increasingly in [[New York (state)|New York]] and [[New Jersey]] waters, and it is expected that they will establish colonies further south.

Human noise pollution continues to affect marine-life communication but remains an understudied facet of marine conservation efforts. In more recent years, the potential negative effect of human noise has been highlighted with the discovery of seals using clapping as a form of communication.<ref name="sciencedaily.com"/>

In the UK seals are protected under the [[Conservation of Seals Act 1970]]; however, it does not apply to [[Northern Ireland]]. In the UK there have also been calls for a cull from some fishermen claiming that stocks have declined due to the seals.

The population in the [[Baltic Sea]] increased about 8% per year between 1990 and the mid-2000s, with the numbers becoming stagnant since 2005. As of 2011, hunting grey seals is legal in [[Sweden]] and [[Finland]], with 50% of the quota being used. Other [[Human impact on the environment|anthropogenic]] causes of death include drowning in fishing gear.<ref>{{cite web |title=Health Assessment in the Baltic grey seal (''Halichoerus grypus'') |work=HELCOM Indicator Fact Sheets 2011 |first1=Britt-Marie |last1=Bäcklin |first2=Charlotta |last2=Moraeus |first3=Mervi |last3=Kunnasranta |first4=Marja |last4=Isomursu |publisher=[[HELCOM]] |date=2 September 2011 |url=http://www.helcom.fi/BSAP_assessment/ifs/ifs2011/en_GB/BalticGreySeal |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111103030646/http://www.helcom.fi/BSAP_assessment/ifs/ifs2011/en_GB/BalticGreySeal/ |archive-date=3 November 2011 }}</ref>

===Captivity===
Grey seals have proved amenable to life in captivity{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}} and are commonly found as zoo animals around their native range, particularly in Europe. Traditionally they were popular circus animals and often used in performances such as balancing and display acts.