'Alive with Seals'

Seal-Fishery Conflict and the Conservation Conversation in Ireland

Abstract

This article presents Irish fishers’ perspectives on seal-fishery interaction as perceived increase in the population of seals causes a variety of issues including depredation of fish and damage to gear. The piece will juxtapose the fishers’ own understandings with an analysis of national public discussions of the seal-fishery problem over the past year as some developments have been made in the government’s willingness to engage with the issue. Grounded in recent developments of an anthropology beyond the human, this piece reflects on how anthropological knowledge can contribute to contemporary conversations around natural resource conservation in Ireland.