Jurnal Pena Wimaya

Vol. 5 No. 2 (2025): Jurnal Pena Wimaya
Articles

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION SEAL REGIME ON THE SEAL HUNT TRADITION : IN SWEDEN AND FINLAND

PDF
  • Chaturiani Istiqomah Hajarwati,
  • Melaty Anggraini
Chaturiani Istiqomah Hajarwati
Student
Melaty Anggraini
Universitas Pembangunan Nasional "Veteran" Yogyakarta
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31315/jpw.v5i2.15024

Published 2025-08-22

Copyright Notice

Abstract

This study evaluates the effectiveness of the European Union Seal Regime (EUSR) in addressing seal hunting practices in Sweden and Finland, against the backdrop of growing attention to animal welfare and environmental sustainability. Using a descriptive qualitative approach, the study relies on literature review and official document analysis. The regime’s effectiveness is assessed through three dimensions: output, outcome, and impact. The findings show that in the output and outcome dimensions, the EUSR succeeded in establishing regulations and influencing member states’ behavior through strict rules and regular reporting. However, in the impact dimension, its effectiveness remains partial. Although seal populations have increased, the policy has had negative effects on local communities, particularly the Sami people, as well as on coastal fishing economies. The discussion reveals a tension between environmental conservation and the protection of local culture and economy. This study recommends a more inclusive and adaptive policy adjustment to ensure the EUSR reflects a balanced form of ecological and social justice.

Keywords; European Union Seal Regime, seal hunt, regime effectiveness, animal welfare

PDF

References

  1. Alteg, Ebba. (2019). Can tourism Seal the deal? An explorative study on Seal tourism in Sweden. Department of Economics; Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.
  2. Altmayer, Anne. (2025). Baltic Sea fishing area: Current challenges. European Parliamentary Research Service.
  3. Aminoff, Christine. 2023. Swedish hunting of seals. Swedish Environmental Protection Agency; Wildlife Management Unit.
  4. Barkin, J Samuel. 2006. International Organizations: Theories and Institutions. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
  5. Barry, Donald. 2005. Icy battleground: Canada, the International Fund for Animal Welfare and the seal hunt. Breakwater Books Ltd; Canada.
  6. Beqiraj, Belinda. (2013). The Delicate Equilibrium of EU Trade Measures: The Seals Case. German Law Journal, Vol. 14, No. 01.
  7. Burke, Catherine Danita. 2023. Cultural Violence, Stigma and the Legacy of the Anti-Sealing Movement. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group; London and New York.
  8. Butler, J.R.A., Cunningham, P.D. and Starr, K. (2005) The prevalence of escaped farmed salmon Salmo salar L., in the River Ewe, western Scotland, with notes on their ages, weights and spawning distribution. Fisheries Management and Ecology. 12(2): 149-159. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2400.2005.00437
  9. Carroll, D., Ahola, M. P., Carlsson, A.M., Sköld, M., & Harding, K. C. (2024). 120-years of ecological monitoring data shows that the risk of overhunting is increased by environmental degradation for an isolated marine mammal population: The Baltic grey seal. Journal of Animal Ecology. 93, 525–539. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.14065
  10. Commission of the European Communities. 2008. Impact Assessment; on the Potential Impact of a Ban of Products Derived from Seal Species. (COM(2008) 469 final 2291). Commission Staff Working Document.
  11. Council Directive. 1989. Amending Directive 83/129/EEC concerning the importation into Member States of skins of certain seal pups and products derived therefore (89/370/EEC). Official Journal of the European Communities.
  12. COWI. 2008. European Commission Directorate-General Environment, Assessment of the Potential Impact of a Ban of Products derived from Seal Species. April 2008. Kongens Lyngby: COWI, 2008, http://ec.europa. eu/environment/biodiversity/animal_welfare/seals/pdf/seals_report.pdf
  13. CSA. (2013). Seal trade ban affecting indigenous peoples of Europe. Canadian Sealers Association. https://www.sealharvest.ca/seal-trade-ban-affecting-indigenous-peoples-of-europe/#:~:text=The%20EU%20seal%20product%20ban,Swedish%20to%20English%20for%20us.
  14. Easton, D. 1965. A Systems Analysis of Political Life. New York: J Wiley
  15. Eero, A, et al. 2011. Grey seal predation on forage fish in the Baltic Sea. ICES Annual Science Conference 2011. https://publications.slu.se/?file=publ/show&id=37057
  16. European Commission. 2009. Regulation (EC) No 1007/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 on trade in seal products.
  17. European Commission. 2010. Commission Regulation (EU) No. 737/2010 of 10 August 2010 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1007/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on trade in seal products.
  18. European Commission. 2015. Regulation (EU) 2015/1775 of the European Parliament and of the Councill of 6 October 2015 amending Regulation (EC) No 1007/2009 on trade in seal products and repealing Commission Regulation (EU) No 737/2010.
  19. European Commission. 2015. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1850 of 13 October 2015 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1007/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on trade in seal products.
  20. European Commission. 2020. Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council; On the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1007/2009, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2015/1775, on the Trade in Seal Products. Brussels.
  21. European Commission. 2023. Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council; On the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1007/2009, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2015/1775, on the Trade in Seal Products. Brussels.
  22. European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). “Animal Welfare Aspects of the Killing and Skinning of Seals.” The EFSA Journal (2007) 610. Parma: EFSA, 2000
  23. European Union. 2016. The EU Seal Regime. Publications Office. https://doi.org/10.2779/70265
  24. Expeditions, Oceanwide. 2025. Arctic Mythology: Inuit, Saami, and the Ancient Greeks. https://oceanwide-expeditions.com/blog/myths-of-the-arctic
  25. Fakhri M (2017) “Gauging US and EU seal regimes in the Arctic against Inuit sovereignty”. In Liu N, Kirk EA, Henriksen T (eds) The European Union and the Arctic.
  26. FMAF. 2007. Management Plan for the Finnish Seal Populations in the Baltic Sea. Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. ISBN 978-952-453-348-5
  27. General Court. 2011. Order of the General Court (Seventh Chamber, Extended Composition) 6 September 2011; In Case T-18/10. General Court of the European Union.
  28. Harding, K.C, et al. 2007. Status of Baltic grey seals: Population assessment and extinction risk. NAMMCO Sci. Publ. 6:33-56.
  29. Härkönen, T., Brasseur, S., Teilmann, J., Vincent, C., Dietz, R., Abt, K. and Reijnders, P. 2007. Status of grey seals along mainland Europe from the Southwestern Baltic to France. NAMMCO Sci. Publ. 6: 57-68.
  30. Helcom. (2023). Grey seal abundance; Distribution of Baltic Grey seals. https://indicators.helcom.fi/indicator/grey-seal-abundance/
  31. Hennig M, Caddell R (2017) “On thin ice? Arctic Indigenous communities, the European Union and the sustainable use of marine mammals”. In Liu N, Kirk EA, Henriksen T (eds) The European Union and the Arctic.
  32. Huttunen, Hannakaisa. 2019. Hunting at sea - then and now. MarineFinland.fi https://www.marinefinland.fi/en-US/Leisure/Leisure_time_at_the_sea/Hunting_at_sea
  33. IFAW. 2019. IFAW was first founded to end the seal hunt. https://www.ifaw.org/international/projects/ending-the-commercial-seal-hunt-canada
  34. Johansson, M, & Waldo, A. (2020). Local People’s Appraisal of the Fishery-Seal Situation in Traditional Fishing Villages on the Baltic Sea Coast in Southeast Sweden. Society & Natural Resources. DOI: 10.1080/08941920.2020.1809756
  35. Kiełpinska J. dan P.A. Kowalski. 2021. Numerical modelling of the population of grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) from the Baltic Sea in the context of reduction of damage to fishing economy. Ecological Indicators 124 (2021) 107423.
  36. Kommerskollegium,. 2019. Public bodies and EU Law. https://www.kommerskollegium.se/eu-ratten/myndigheter-kommuner-och-eu-ratten/
  37. Lepola, Marcus. 2018. “Sjalen” - Seal Hunting in the Northern Baltic Sea. A Skari - Living Heritage Educational Project: Northern Wilderness Skills and Traditions.
  38. Levy, Sarah. 2020. A Tale of Two Seal Hunts: Contesting the Conflation of Canadian Sealing Activities. Stetson University: International Wildlife Law Conference.
  39. Littin, K.E. and Mellor, D.J. (2005) Strategic animal welfare issues: ethical and animal welfare issues arising from the killing of wildlife for disease control and environmental reasons. Revue Scientifique et Technique-Office International des Epizooties. 24(2): 767-782
  40. Martin. L. L. and Simmons, B. A. (1998) Theories and Empirical Studies of International Institutions, International Organization 52: 729-757'.
  41. McElroy, A. 2013. Sedna's Children: Inuit Elders' Perceptions of Climate Change and Food Security. In Environmental Anthropology: Future Directions. Helen Kopnina and Eleanor Shoreman-Ouimet, eds. New York: Routledge.
  42. Miles, Edward L. 2002. Environmental Regime Effectiveness: Confronting Theory with Evidence. The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England.
  43. NatureScot. 2024. Seals. Scotland’s Nature Agency. https://www.nature.scot/plants-animals-and-fungi/mammals/marine-mammals/seals#:~:text=There%20are%20about%20100%2C000%20harbour,Sea%20and%20the%20Barents%20Sea.
  44. Naturvardsverket. 2024. Hunting seals. https://www.naturvardsverket.se/en/topics/hunting/hunting-seals/
  45. Newsome, D., Dowling, R. K., & Moore, S. A. (2005). Wildlife tourism. Clevedon ; Buffalo: Channel View Publications.
  46. Nicoll, Ruaridh. (2017). Life on the ice: one last hunt for Norway sealers. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/apr/09/last-of-the-seal-hunters-norway-arctic-ice-activism-documentary
  47. Nunny, L., Simmonds, M., & Butterworth, A. (2018). A review of seal killing practice in Europe: Implications for animal welfare. Marine Policy. 98, 121-132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2018.08.013
  48. Oma, Paul. 2008. EU perspectives of seals and sealing; Norwegian-Russian Symposium. Counsellor for fisheries; Mission of Norway to the EU.
  49. Onatsu, Jaana. 2019. A hunting party on spring ice. Finnish Heritage Agency. https://www.museovirasto.fi/en/collection-and-information-services/the_picture_collections/whats-on/articles-in-kamera-magazine-2019/a-hunting-party-on-spring-ice
  50. Parliamentary Assembly. 2006. Recommendation 1776 (2006) Seal hunting. Parliamentary Assembly.
  51. Ryan, Shannon. 1994. The Ice Hunters: A History of Newfoundland Sealing to 1914. St. John’s: Breakwater Books Ltd.
  52. Sellheim, Nikolas. 2016. Legislating the blind spot: the EU seal regime and the Newfoundland seal hunt. University of Lapland: Lapland University Press.
  53. Sellheim, Nikolas. 2013. The Neglected Tradition? – The Genesis of the EU Seal Products Trade Ban and Commercial Sealing. The Yearbook of Polar Law V (2013): 417–450. DOI: 10.1163/22116427-12341287
  54. Sellheim, Nikolas. 2014. Living with ‘Barbarians’ - Within the Commercial Sealing Industry. Faculty of Law; University of Lapland. Finlandia.
  55. Skold, Martin. (2023). Effect of hunting and by-catches on the observed rate of growth of the Baltic Sea grey seal population. Department of Environmental Research and Monitoring: Swedish Museum of Natural History.
  56. STECF. 2018. The 2018 Annual Economic Report on the EU Fishing Fleet (STECF-18-07). Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
  57. Stokke, Olav Schram. 2001. The Interplay of International Regimes: Putting Effectiveness Theory to Work. The Fridtjof Nansen Institute.
  58. SwAM. 2023. Management system in Sweden with focus on seals. Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management.
  59. Tienhaara A, et al. (2024). Seal of approval: Public preferences for the conversation of endangered Saimaa ringed seal. Journal for Nature Conservation 82 (2024) 126752.
  60. Tverin M, Esparza-Salas R, Stromberg A, Tang P, Kokkonen I, Herrero A, et al. (2019) Complementary methods assessing short and long-term prey of a marine top predator Application to the grey seal-fishery conflict in the Baltic Sea. PLoS ONE 14(1): e0208694. https://doi. org/10.1371/journal.pone.020869
  61. Underdal. Arild. (1992) The Concept of Regime Effectiveness. Cooperation and Conflict 27. 3: 227-240.
  62. Underdal, Arild & Young, Oran R. 2004. Regime Consequences; Methodological Challenges and Research Strategies. Kluwer Academic Publishers.
  63. Varjopuro, Riku. 2011. Co-existence of seals and fisheries? Adaptation of a coastal fishery for recovery of the Baltic grey seal. Marine Policy 35 (2011) 450-456.
  64. Vergano, Fratini. 2024. EU rules for trade in seal products under review: The comeback of additional exceptions for commercial exploitation? https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=32986215-96da-4410-9302-15b2b2c32984
  65. Waldo S, et al. 2020. The economic costs of seal presence in Swedish small-scale fisheries. ICES Journal of Marine Science (2020), 77(2), 815-825. DOI: 10.1093/icesjms/fsz221