I spend a lot of time by the sea here in Finland, especially around the Bothnian Bay.
Every time I see a seal resting on the shore or swimming near the rocks, it feels like something special.
They’ve been here long before us — part of this place, part of the rhythm of the North.

But every year, there are fewer of them. Some get trapped in fishing nets, others struggle because winters are getting warmer and the ice they depend on keeps disappearing.
For seals, the sea and the shoreline aren’t just a habitat — it’s their home, their safety, their whole way of life.

People often forget how fragile they are. You can’t replace a species like that. When they disappear, even the silence changes.

That’s why I believe we need to protect them — not as some distant “wildlife,” but as part of our shared world.
The sea, the ice, the birds, the seals — it’s all connected.
When one part is lost, everything else starts to fall apart.

I just hope we won’t wait until it’s too late to realize what we’ve lost.

đź“Ť Bothnian Bay, Finland
🧊 Real place. No filters. No AI.

by PavloNevinchanyi

3 comments

  2. This isn’t true, their population has increased 5x since the 1970s. There are around 25000 of them

    https://yle.fi/a/74-20172917

    They are doing so well they increased the hunting quota to 425 per year.

    Where are you reading that there are fewer every year and the population isnt doing well?

  3. > But every year, there are fewer of them.

    If you have a sure way to tell how much the population is, please note the officials. They can only guess the population sizes, and that method gets very questionable results at best. Might as well add anecdotal evidence as facts: I’ve seen those in Bothnian bay more and more them 50 years I’ve wandered there, as well as grey seals.

    If you wan’t to protect them, stop the climate change. Otherwise, good luck wasting time and resources to a lost cause.

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