The interview with Juha Ylimaunu was conducted by PI Danita Burke remotely on November 13, 2025. If you would like to know more about Ylimaunu’s work, you can access his dissertation – “Itämeren hylkeenpyyntikulttuurit ja ihminen–hylje -suhde” or “The sealing cultures and the human-seal relationship of the Baltic Sea“. Is is published in Finnish on the University of Helsinki website. The dissertation is in Finnish but below is an English summary.
Danita Catherine Burke: A good place to start would be for you to tell me a little bit about yourself and how you became involved in looking into the issue of seals.
Juha Ylimaunu: My background is in biology, but my interest in sealing began because many of my friends were professional fishermen, and my brother is an archaeologist at the University of Oulu. He asked me to gather information about how Stone Age people caught seals, because burned seal bones are often found at archaeological sites. This was a very interesting question, and at the time nobody had really studied what sealing methods existed before the invention of firearms. That was the starting point of my research. Another motivation came from modern fishermen, who were asking how seal damage to fishing gear could be prevented. These were the main starting points for my research.
Burke: When did your interest in sealing begin?
Ylimaunu: In the 1990s.
Burke: You said you’re retired now and still involved in some research projects, but not related to seals. When did you stop working on sealing?
Ylimaunu: I’m originally a biologist, but during the 1980s and 1990s I worked for environmental offices and administrations in several places in Finland. After that, I completed my doctoral dissertation and joined the mining and steel industry. Since then, I have been responsible for sustainability issues in a large international mining and steel company based in Finland.
Burke: What were some of the most interesting takeaways from your sealing research?
Ylimaunu: One important finding was that sealing on the Finnish coast was unique in the past and much more important than on other Scandinavian coasts. During the Middle Ages and afterward, the Finnish coast produced a significant proportion of the seal oil used in Europe—for lamp oil and other purposes. At the same time, the sealing culture in Finland was very similar to that of the Inuit in Greenland, northern Canada, Alaska, and Siberia. It was exciting to learn how similar the cultural rules and traditions were, and how old they were. The range of sealing techniques—the technical methods—was particularly impressive, and what I found in manuscripts and literature amazed me.
Burke: Have you published this research?
Ylimaunu: My doctoral dissertation and a couple of small articles. My dissertation was completed in 2000. After that I didn’t publish further on the subject; it was more of a hobby. But it was well received. At the University of Helsinki, where I studied, there was an annual competition for the best doctoral dissertation. Mine reached the final and came second. I published it in Finnish because my aim was also to encourage sealing in Finland, especially as fishermen and sealers at that time were dealing with hunting bans.
In my dissertation I also discussed the future relationship between humans and seals. I concluded that humans would not be able to limit the growth of seal populations in practice—and that has indeed happened. Seal populations have grown rapidly, driven by factors like food availability and disease, not by human management. Fishermen have to adapt.
Burke: Is it possible for you to send me links to your articles and your dissertation?
Ylimaunu: Yes. You can find my work online—just google my name. My dissertation is available on the University of Helsinki’s website, and it includes a six-page English summary. My sealing research covers the coasts of Denmark, Germany, Poland, Finland, and Sweden.
Burke: I’ve spoken to Finnish and Swedish sealers who say that EU regulations on seal hunting conflict with Finnish hunting traditions and law. Did this come up in your research?
Ylimaunu: Yes, of course. In my study, I describe the forms of animism and traditional beliefs Finnish seal hunters had, and how these traditions survived until the Second World War. There is more information about this in my study.
Burke: Do you hunt seals?
Ylimaunu: No, but I’ve been involved with fishermen throughout my life, and some of my relatives have been fishermen.
Burke: As a researcher and biologist, how do you think the EU ban on the use of seal products has affected the marine ecosystem off the Finnish coast?
Ylimaunu: The EU regulation is illogical—really illogical—and causes many difficulties. Today, sealing is economically a burden for sealers; they do it as a hobby. Hunting seals on ice is difficult and dangerous. Ice conditions and storms can easily destroy a small boat. Over the past, hundreds of men have drowned during seal hunts. It is dangerous work. The EU ban on seal products is, frankly, stupid.
In my study, I wrote about the pressures sealers faced 25 years ago. The issue is that people in the powerful cities of Europe do not understand the realities of those living in the coastal periphery of the Nordic countries—people who live from nature. I also traced how extreme animal protection activists in the 1960s and 70s began using seals as fundraising symbols, with campaigns featuring celebrities like Brigitte Bardot and focusing on Canada, Greenland, and Denmark. Their motivations were economic. But sealing in Finland has always been small-scale, nothing like the North Atlantic hunts. Yet the EU treats them the same.
Burke: You mentioned similarities between Finnish and Inuit sealing cultures. Can you expand on that?
Ylimaunu: The ice-hunting methods and sealing techniques are very similar. You can find the details in my book.
Burke: Your book is only in Finnish?
Ylimaunu: Yes, but it can be translated online into English, Danish, or other languages.
Burke: The EU has an exception for Inuit and Indigenous seal products. Nordic hunters often argue that they are Indigenous too, even if not Sámi or Inuit. Since your research shows similarities to Indigenous sealing cultures, how could Finnish sealers argue for inclusion in such an exception? Or how could EU regulations be modified to acknowledge these Nordic traditions?
Ylimaunu: They cannot qualify easily. I have discussed this with seal hunters. Hunters in the Gulf of Bothnia see the product ban as both an ethical and practical problem. They must leave most of the seal—fat and other parts—on the ice or in the sea as waste. They usually take only the skin as a “souvenir.” This goes against traditional ethics and responsibility, because traditionally every part of the seal was used. They cannot make or sell products like oil or food as they could before. These products used to serve local coastal markets. The ban therefore conflicts with traditional norms and also creates waste problems.
There are a couple of small local sealing organizations in the Gulf of Bothnia. I have encouraged them to consider applying for UNESCO recognition to protect their cultural traditions. The old sealing methods are unique globally, with thousands of years of history supported by archaeological and historical evidence. Sealing has been an important part of the human–sea relationship in the Baltic Sea region.
Burke: Do EU officials understand the complexities of human–seal relationships in the Nordic region?
Ylimaunu: Not at all.
Burke: Scholars have been trying since 2009 to explain that not all seal hunts are the same. Is the EU’s lack of understanding due to ignorance or lack of information?
Ylimaunu: Both. There is a lack of information, but also attitude. People in large cities do not understand the living conditions in peripheral coastal areas.
Burke: What do you think the future holds for seal hunting in Finland?
Ylimaunu: Sealing is now done very professionally, ethically and systematically, and in an organized way. It is regulated, but from the fishermen’s perspective, not enough sealing is happening. Seal populations are increasing, and demand for fish is rising. Fishermen need new techniques to prevent seal damage, because seals adapt quickly to fishing gear.
I have seen young men studying traditional sealing methods, so the tradition is alive. When I wrote my study, I feared it might disappear entirely. One purpose of my book was to document the old methods and preserve the knowledge.
Burke: So you think sealing has a future in Finland?
Ylimaunu: Yes, especially in the north of Finland and Sweden. I’m not sure about Helsinki or Stockholm, but elsewhere people understand the need for sealing. It is a very old human–nature relationship, and I hope it continues.
Burke: Is there anything important that I didn’t ask?
Ylimaunu: I don’t know. I must apologize—it has been 25 years since I worked actively on sealing. But you can check my book for more information.
Note: This piece underwent minor copyediting by Juha Ylimaunu and was replaced with the edited version on November 28th, 2025 on their request.
Seals, Stigma and Survival 