ASSOCIATED PRESS • October 5, 2020
No one questions that seal and shark numbers are on the rise, mostly due to federal protections. It’s estimated there are as many as 50,000 grey seals in New England waters plus a lesser number of harbor seals. The animals were almost eliminated through hunting and bounties decades ago. But experts maintain there is not enough science to determine whether the current population is too big and little basis for culling the marine mammals. Experts say warming waters and other factors also could be playing a role in declining fisheries.