New York Aquarium News
A Seal in Your Backyard?
Recent sightings of harbor seals along the Long Island coast, in New York City bays and harbors, and up the Hudson River have provoked considerable interest. But quite simply, the seals are back where they belong. Harbor seals, after all, were common to the harbors and inshore waters along the eastern seaboard from Maine to Virginia until exploitation by humans reduced their numbers almost completely near any urban areas.
Hunting throughout the colonial years and even well into the twentieth century eradicated seals from most populated coastlines. In some fishing communities, the seals were hunted as vermin that competed with fishermen and destroyed their nets. It was common for a bounty to be placed on the noses of seals as an incentive to eliminate the animals. But today their population is now clearly expanding. This phenomenon has resulted in excited calls to the Wildlife Conservation Society's New York Aquarium, the Police Department, and local newspapers reporting sightings. The influx of seals and even the occasional harbor porpoise or dolphin has, in fact, been building for a number of years.
In the United States, the most influential factor in the population explosion has been the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, which places all marine mammals under almost complete protection. Any willful interference, including the close approach by humans is prohibited by Federal Law and carries penalties of serious fines or imprisonment. The New York Aquarium, like many other institutions along the coast, responds to sightings of sick or injured animals stranded on the shore. Are these so called strandings an indication of yet another threat to the environment by some human pollution? Not likely because healthy animals simply resting on the beach are also appearing in greater numbers. On some small islands along Long Island there are rookeries of up to 2,000 seals. Even the tiny islands off Staten Island, just past the Verrazano Bridge, can be seen lined with the plump bodies of harbor seals basking in the sun.
Humans invariably respond to such natural phenomenon with the questions, "What can we do about it?" Often well intentioned people will try to save a stranded seal and may receive a serious bite for their efforts. Such interventions should be left to trained workers. Report the situation to the authorities at either the New York Aquarium (718)265-3441 or Riverhead Foundation (631)369-9829. Reporting healthy marine mammals also gives researchers good information for tracking the population.
