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Hotels, dive operators, gear, and how to get here are on the North Male Atoll location page.
Overview
The Farne Islands are a group of islands off the coast of Northumberland, England. Known for their abundant wildlife, including a large grey seal colony and various seabirds. Diving here offers encounters with seals in their natural habitat, alongside kelp forests and rocky reefs.
Briefing note
Diving permits may be required. Strong currents can occur. Follow responsible wildlife interaction guidelines.
What you'll see
1 species curated- year-roundGrey SealPeak: Jan · Feb · Mar · Apr · May · Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep · Oct · Nov · Dec
Sightings evidence
1 record on file- high confidenceGrey Seal
- Last confirmed
- Aug 2024
- Recent records
- 50 within 25 km
- Cluster months
- Year-round
Frequent sightings around the Farne Islands.
Sources & methodology
How we summarise this
We aggregate confirmed occurrence records from GBIF and OBIS within a fixed radius of each dive site. Occurrence records confirm presence and reveal seasonality clustering, but they DO NOT measure per-dive probability — there is no eligible-effort denominator. We deliberately do not publish a numeric '% chance of sighting' from this data.
Sources
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility — GBIF Secretariat
- Ocean Biodiversity Information System — IOC-UNESCO
- OBIS-SEAMAP — Duke University Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab / OBIS
- iNaturalist — California Academy of Sciences & National Geographic Society
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — International Union for Conservation of Nature
- WoRMS — World Register of Marine Species — Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ)
- FishBase — FishBase Consortium
- Atlas of Living Australia — CSIRO / GBIF Australia
- REEF Volunteer Fish Survey — Reef Environmental Education Foundation
Conditions
| Month | Water | Visibility | Current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6–8 °C | 5–10 m | moderate |
| Feb | 5–7 °C | 5–9 m | moderate |
| Mar | 6–8 °C | 6–10 m | moderate |
| Apr | 7–9 °C | 7–12 m | mild |
| May | 9–11 °C | 8–14 m | mild |
| Jun | 11–13 °C | 10–15 m | mild |
| Jul | 12–14 °C | 10–16 m | mild |
| Aug | 13–15 °C | 10–15 m | mild |
| Sep | 12–14 °C | 9–14 m | mild |
| Oct | 10–12 °C | 8–13 m | moderate |
| Nov | 8–10 °C | 7–12 m | moderate |
| Dec | 7–9 °C | 6–10 m | moderate |
Season calendar
Peak season highlighted · current month outlined
Next step
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