Seasonal Migration of Ice Seals in the Bering and Chukchi Seas
Report for July – December 2010:
NOAA Ice Seal Research Plan 2010 was presented by Peter Boveng, the Polar Ecosystems Program at NMML/NOAA AFSC. Seasonal movements, habitat selection, foraging, and haul-out behavior of adult bearded seals in the Chukchi Sea is a community and agency collaboration to document habitat requirements of a vital subsistence resource. It is a collaboration of subsistence hunters and researchers. In 2009, 1 adult and 2 sub-adult males were tagged, and weighed between 184 to 253 kg. Satellite tags were attached to the hind-flipper for long-term movements and haul-out time lines. Bearded seal movements were shown from June 2009 to June 2010. Dive depths ranged from 50 m for the sub-adults and to less than 150 m for the adults. Surveys of seals in the Bering Sea pack ice using unmanned aircraft systems is another research project. The flights operated in the Bering Sea to help estimate the population of seals.
Banner photo credit: ADF&G
