Volunteers help protect seals as they return to Belgian beaches

Locals and tourists are increasingly catching sight of seals on Belgian beaches. According to the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, the number of seals in the country has been on the rise over the past 20 years.

Steve Vermote,General manager of Sea Life Blankenberge said "I see that the people that are walking on the beach are getting more used to seeing seals on the beach. And in the past where they would pass, just walk past it.

They are now reporting it to us. So we are actually having a bigger amount of seals being reported on the North Sea. And we are actually having more interventions because some seals are perfectly fine to actually survive in the wild and they might have a minor wound, but we see seals with bigger wounds these days."

Shortly after the first COVID-19 lockdown, the North Seal Team and the Ostend municipality established seal-only zones and introduced rules: a minimum distance of 30 metres from the animals. And a golden rule: no feeding or drinking.