Kicking off the Winter Research Season

Year-round, nearly everything we do contributes data to ongoing conservation research projects-within our organization, and with collaborators from all over the world. The winter months are dedicated to the field sampling of harbor and gray seals.

Over the next few months we will be in the field with a team of other scientists contributing to baseline datasets needed to better conserve and manage seals and their environment. We will be performing health assessments, collecting biological samples and morphologic data, and placing satellite tracking tags on harbor and gray seals at various locations between Maine and Virginia.

These research initiatives seek to grow our understanding of gray seal pupping, the general health of these animals, the presence and impact of infectious diseases, what habitats seals are using and for how long, what kind of human interactions they may be subject to, and more.

As we gain more knowledge and understanding of how seals are living in a complex and sensitive ecosystem, we can better understand how they may be affected by things such as climate change, and maximize our efforts to help these animals in both the immediate, and long-term future.