Forth Islands Heritage Group

Fife Seal Group is a small voluntary group whose purpose is to monitor the numbers of both harbour and grey seals occurring in the Forth and Tay estuaries as well along the Fife coastline, effectively between Carnoustie on the north side of the Tay Estuary mouth and Dunbar at the south side of the Forth Estuary mouth. In reality, most of the recording is done within the Forth Estuary, though significant gaps in monitoring are still present.

The Group’s activities began during the mid 1980s when several of its originating members visited the Isle of May annually for the purpose of visiting the growing grey seal colonies there. These individuals transferred their activities to Inchkeith and other islands in the Firth of Forth during the early 1990s, eventually leading to Fife Seal Group being formed in 2010.

The huge grey seal breeding colonies at Isle of May are monitored by Sea Mammal Research Unit at University of St. Andrews, whilst Fife Seal Group monitors the breeding numbers of grey seals at the remaining islands in the Forth, with focus being on Inchkeith, Craigleith and Inchcolm.

Recently Fife Seal Group became a section within FIHG for easier administration and planning purposes.

Membership of Fife Seal Group, now Forth Islands’ Heritage Group is currently free, though the Group’s Constitution provides for the charging of an annual membership if this becomes necessary. Anyone who joins FIHG is eligible to participate in any of the Group’s activities.

You can join FIHG by sending an email to the group’s Secretary at: forthislandsheritagegroup@gmail.com