Finland’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has announced new regulations on the hunting of Baltic ringed seals, isolating the approved hunting zone to the Bothnian Bay-Kvarken area only.
Speaking in a press release, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry explained that the hunting of seals can only take place in the Bothnian Bay-Kvarken area, and from August 1st 2025, to July 31st 2027.
Now, due to these restrictions, no hunting quotas have been set in the Southwest Finland area or around the Gulf of Finland.
But in addition to these restrictions comes an increase in the annual hunting quota in the region by 50, now set to 425 annually.
This decision has been strongly criticised by WWF Finland, which stated that the quota should be reduced by 50 percent.