Ms Bell said while grey seals do travel upriver, their bodies are adapted to salt water conditions.

BBC: Grey seal spotted in Bewdley and Stourport-on-Severn

In the death zone between the rock shoals and the breakers, two grey seals float and turn, fishing, peering, wallowing like fat ladies in a spa pool.

BBC: Hiking Wales�� storied coastline

Dan Jarvis, from the Cornish Seal Sanctuary at Gweek in west Cornwall, said he is concerned the activity could discourage grey seals from using the area for breeding.

BBC: Marine Minerals

The Special Areas of Conservation at the Maidens include sandbanks, reefs and grey seals, while the areas protected at the Skerries and Causeway includes sea caves, sandbanks and reefs.

BBC: Two new areas of marine protection along NI coastline

Michelle McIlveen of the DUP referred to the importance of Strangford as a breeding ground for common and grey seals, and said the assembly should not underestimate the importance of the mussel beds as a filtration system and as a nursery for other species.

BBC: Sustainability of Strangford Lough

At Big Sur, it climbs up the rough volcanic ranges, carving around cliffs with sheer drops to the thrashing ocean below, and leads on to the silver-grey foreshores of San Simeon, where elephant seals parp and loll, wriggling to inch themselves up the sand as the frothing tide approaches.

BBC: The road to Hollywood, California