Ice Seal Research Results 2019 Tagging
Results from the Summer of 2019:
In June 2019, the NSB DWM commenced seal capture work. We deploy monofilament drift nets along the ice edge during breakup to capture ringed seals, and near sandy spits to capture spotted seals that are hauled out. Length, girth and weight measurements are taken, as well as blood samples for health assessment. Satellite tags are attached to record movements and habitat use and CTD tags include information on water chemistry. The CTD tags are made by the Sea Mammal Research Unit in St. Andrews, Scotland, and the flipper-SPOT tags are made by Wildlife Computers in Redmond, WA. We will continue to send maps throughout the season until the satellite tags stop transmitting. Please feel free to contact Andy Von Duyke at 852-0350 if you have any questions or comments. These seals were tagged as part of a collaborative effort between Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Arctic Marine Mammal Program and North Slope Borough, Department of Wildlife Management staff.
Satellite Tag Data: David Douglas (USGS)
The tagging team consists of staff from the North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management (NSB-DWM), Alaska Native hunters from UtqiaĔvik, and staff from the Marine Mammal Program at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG-MMP): Andy Von Duyke, Joe Skin, Isaac Leavitt, Bobby Sarren, Billy Adams, Vernon Long, Craig George are all from NSB. Anna Bryan, Justin Crawford, and Ryan Adam are with the ADFG-AMMP program.
Funding for this work is provided by the NSB Shell Baseline Studies Program. This seal research is conducted under NMFS permit #20466 and ADF&G Animal Care and Use Committee Protocol #0027-2017-27.
From ADFG Tagging Program:
During the history of this project, seals were tagged in the following locations: Kotzebue Sound, in collaboration with the Native Village of Kotzebue, in 2014; near Koyuk in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018; near Hooper Bay in 2015; near St. Michael in 2015 and 2016; near Scammon Bay in 2016, 2017, and 2018; near Nome in 2016 and 2017; near UtqiaĔvik (formerly Barrow) in 2016, 2017, 2018; near Buckland in 2017; and near Nuiqsut in 2017 and 2018. ADFG collaborated with the North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management to tag seals near UtqiaĔvik and Nuiqsut. ADFG tagged seals in the south north western and south western locations. Funding for seal tagging has been provided by BOEM (SPLASH and SPOT tags, Wildlife Computers, Redmond, WA) and the Office of Naval Research (CTD tags, Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St. Andrews, UK). The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Marine Mammal Laboratory provided 14 flipper (SPOT) tags that were deployed on spotted seals. Current seal research is conducted under NMFS permit #20466 issued to ADF&G and under an approved ADF&G Animal Care and Use Committee Protocol #0027-2019-41.
Current maps, archived maps, and additional project information, including the types of tags deployed, and links to updates for our other projects, Ice Seal Biological Monitoring and Harvest Monitoring, can be viewed on the ADFG webpage.
August 10, 2020
See the attached map. From 27 July to 10 August 2020, we received locations for 1 bearded, 4 ringed and 3 spotted seals, all were in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. The adult bearded seal (BS19-01-M, red square) remained near heavy sea ice, north of the continental shelf, in the western Beaufort Sea. Two ringed seals, RS19-02-M (yellow arrow) and RS19-03-M (orange arrow), were in the western Beaufort Sea, near the shelf break. The remaining two ringed seals, RS19-04-M (blue arrow) and RS19-05-M (purple arrow), were in the northern Chukchi Sea. One spotted seal, SS19-01-M (red circle), was in the western Beaufort Sea and Dease Inlet. The remaining two spotted seals, SS19-04-M (pink circle) and SS19-05-M (purple circle), were near Icy Cape in the Chukchi Sea. These seals were tagged during the summer and fall of 2019. As expected, the primary tags we epoxied to their backs have since fallen off during the annual molt this spring. The locations we are currently receiving are from the SPOT tags we attached to their flippers. Because SPOT tags are attached to their flippers we only receive locations when the seal has hauled out of the water, either on sea ice or land.
July 27, 2020
See the attached map. From 13 to 27 July 2020, we received locations for 1 bearded, 2 ringed and 3 spotted seals, all in the northeast Chukchi and western Beaufort seas. These seals were tagged during the summer and fall of 2019. As expected, the primary tags we epoxied to their backs have since fallen off during the annual molt this spring. The locations we are currently receiving are from the SPOT tags we attached to their flippers. Because SPOT tags are attached to their flippers we only receive locations when the seal has hauled out of the water, either on sea ice or land. The adult bearded seal (BS19-01-M, red square) remained in heavy sea ice and moved off the continental shelf in the Beaufort Sea. The ringed seals, RS19-02-M (yellow arrow) and RS19-03-M (orange arrow), were in the western Beaufort Sea. One spotted seal, SS19-04-M (pink circle), was near Icy Cape in the Chukchi Sea while the two others, SS19-05-M (purple circle) and SS19-06-M (green circle), were in the western Beaufort Sea, generally in and near Dease Inlet. An updated map showing recent movements of all seals is attached to this email and is posted on the ADF&G webpage. Seal movements can also be viewed on the Animal Telemetry Network.
July 13, 2020
See the attached map. From 29 June to 13 July 2020, we received locations for 1 bearded, 4 ringed and 5 spotted seals. The adult bearded seal (BS19-01-M, red square) remained in heavy sea ice and moved between the 200-m isopleth and deeper water in the Beaufort Sea. The ringed seals were in the Chukchi and western Beaufort seas; RS19-02-M (yellow arrow) remained near Icy Cape, RS19-03-M (orange arrow) was along the east rim of Barrow Canyon, and RS19-04-M (blue arrow) and RS19-05-M (purple arrow) were in pack ice in the central Chukchi Sea. Three spotted seals were near Icy Cape while two others remained in the Bering Sea near remnant patches of sea ice in Anadyr Gulf.
June 29, 2020
See the attached map. From 15 to 29 June 2020, we received locations for 1 bearded, 4 ringed and 6 spotted seals. The adult bearded seal (BS19-01-M, red square) remained in heavy sea ice east of Barrow Canyon and moved north of the 200-m isopleth. The ringed seals were in the Chukchi Sea; RS19-02-M (yellow arrow) remained near Icy Cape, RS19-03-M (orange arrow) and RS19-04-M (blue arrow) were in Kotzebue Sound, and RS19-05-M (purple arrow) left Kotzebue Sound and moved north of Lisburne Peninsula into the heavy sea ice in the central Chukchi Sea. The three spotted seals that moved into the southern Chukchi Sea earlier in June remained in the Chukchi; SS19-01-M (red circle) and SS19-06-M (green circle) continued to move north to an area south of Icy Cape while SS19-02-M (blue circle) remained in the southern Chukchi Sea, along the Seward Peninsula. Three spotted seals remained in the Bering Sea near remnant patches of sea ice in Anadyr Gulf and near St. Lawrence Island.
June 15, 2020
See the attached map. From 1 to 15 June 2020, we received locations for 1 bearded, 4 ringed and 7 spotted seals. The adult bearded seal (BS19-01-M, red square) remained in heavy sea ice east of Barrow Canyon. The ringed seals were generally distributed from the central Chukchi Sea, near Icy Cape, to the southern Chukchi Sea; three of which were last located in or near the mouth of Kotzebue Sound. Three spotted seals left Norton Sound and moved north, along the coast of Seward Peninsula, and into the southern Chukchi Sea. Four spotted seals remained in the Bering Sea near remnant patches of sea ice in Anadyr Gulf and near St. Lawrence Island.
June 1, 2020
See the attached map. From 18 May to 1 June 2020, we received locations for 1 bearded, 4 ringed and 7 spotted seals. The adult bearded seal (BS19-01-M, red square) moved east of Barrow Canyon. The ringed seals were generally distributed from the central Chukchi Sea, near Icy Cape, to the southern Chukchi Sea; two of which were last located near Cape Espenberg. All seven spotted seals were in the Bering Sea. Spotted seal SS19-05-M (purple circle) left Karaginskiy Bay, along northeastern Kamchatka Peninsula, moved east along the Russian Coast, and was last located east of Cape Olyutorskiy. Three spotted seals were located near the mouth of Norton Sound near remnant patches of sea ice while two other spotted seals were located along the east coast of St. Lawrence Island.
May 18, 2020
See the attached map. From 4 to 18 May 2020, we received locations for 1 bearded, 4 ringed and 7 spotted seals. The adult bearded seal (BS19-01-M, red square) made localized movements near UtqiaĔvik and Barrow Canyon. The ringed seals were generally distributed from the central to the southern Chukchi Sea, including Kotzebue Sound. Six of the seven spotted seals were in the central Bering Sea and were distributed between the Russian and Alaskan coasts. Spotted seal SS19-05-M (purple circle) moved west from its recent locations near Cape Navarin, Russia, along the Russian Coast to Karaginskiy Bay, along northeastern Kamchatka Peninsula.
May 4, 2020
See the attached map. From 20 April to 4 May 2020, we received locations for 1 bearded, 3 ringed and 7 spotted seals. The adult bearded seal (BS19-01-M, red square) made localized movements near UtqiaĔvik and Barrow Canyon. The ringed seals remained in heavy ice (>80%) and were generally located in Hope Basin in the southern Chukchi Sea. All seven spotted seals were generally near the edge of the sea ice in the central Bering Sea and were distributed between the Russian and Alaskan coasts.
April 20, 2020
See the attached map. From 6 to 20 April 2020, we received locations for 1 bearded, 4 ringed and 7 spotted seals. The adult bearded seal (BS19-01-M, red square) made localized movements near UtqiaĔvik and Barrow Canyon. The ringed seals remained in heavy ice (>80%) and were distributed from the northeast Chukchi Sea to the southern Chukchi Sea. All seven spotted seals were generally near the edge of the sea ice in the central Bering Sea and were distributed between Cape Navarin, Russia and Bristol Bay.
April 6, 2020
See the attached map. From 23 March to 6 April 2020, we received locations for 1 bearded, 4 ringed and 7 spotted seals. The adult bearded seal (BS19-01-M, red square) made localized movements near UtqiaĔvik and Barrow Canyon. The ringed seals remained in heavy ice (>80%), generally near shore, and were distributed from the northeast Chukchi Sea, near Icy Cape, to the southern Chukchi Sea. All seven spotted seals were generally near the edge of the sea ice in the central Bering Sea and were distributed between Anadyr Gulf and Bristol Bay.
March 23, 2020
See the attached map. From 9 to 23 March 2020, we received locations for 3 ringed and 7 spotted seals. The ringed seals remained in heavy ice (>80%) and occupied the northeast Chukchi Sea, between UtqiaĔvik and Icy Cape, the southern Chukchi Sea, near Hope Basin. All seven spotted seals were generally near the inner-edge of the heavy ice in the central Bering Sea and were distributed between Cape Navarin, Russia and Bristol Bay. During the last two weeks sea ice began to recede north from its maximum near the 100-m isopleth. The seven spotted seals followed the sea ice by moving north and east.
March 9, 2020
See the attached map. From 24 February to 9 March 2020, we received locations for 1 bearded, 3 ringed, and 7 spotted seals. The adult bearded seal (BS19-01-M, red square) continued to make localized movements in Barrow Canyon near UtqiaĔvik. The ringed seals remained in heavy ice (>80%) and occupied the northeast Chukchi Sea, near Icy Cape, the southern Chukchi Sea, and the northern Bering Sea, near St. Lawrence Island. All seven spotted seals were generally near the inner-edge of the heavy ice in the central Bering Sea and were distributed between Cape Navarin, Russia and Bristol Bay.
February 24, 2020
See the attached map. From 10 to 24 February 2020, we received locations for 1 bearded, 4 ringed, and 8 spotted seals. The adult bearded seal (BS19-01-M, red square) continued to make localized movements in Barrow Canyon near UtqiaĔvik. All four ringed seals were in heavy ice (>80%) and occupied the northeast Chukchi Sea, near Icy Cape, the southern Chukchi Sea, and the northern Bering Sea, near St. Lawrence Island. All eight spotted seals were generally near the inner-edge of the heavy ice in the central Bering Sea and were distributed between Cape Navarin, Russia and Bristol Bay.
February 10, 2020
See the attached map. From 27 January to 10 February 2020, we received locations for 3 ringed and 7 spotted seals. All three ringed seals were in heavy ice (>80%) from the northeast Chukchi Sea to the northern Bering Sea, near St. Lawrence Island. All seven spotted seals were generally near the inner-edge of the heavy ice in the central Bering Sea and were distributed between Anadyr Gulf and Bristol Bay; four of the spotted seals were also near the 100-m isopleth.
January 27, 2020
See the attached map. From 13 to 27 January 2020, we received locations for 1 bearded, 5 ringed, and 8 spotted seals. The adult bearded seal (BS19-01-M, red square) continued to make localized movements near UtqiaĔvik and Barrow Canyon. All five ringed seals were in heavy ice (>80%) and were distributed between the central Chukchi Sea and the northern Bering Sea. All eight spotted seals were generally near the inner-edge of the heavy ice in the central Bering Sea and were distributed between Anadyr Gulf and Nunivak Island.
January 13, 2020
See the attached map. From 30 December 2019 to 13 January 2020, we received locations for 1 bearded, 5 ringed, and 8 spotted seals. The adult bearded seal (BS19-01-M, red square) continued to make localized movements near UtqiaĔvik and Barrow Canyon. All five ringed seals were in heavy ice (>80%) and were distributed between the central Chukchi Sea and the northern Bering Sea. All eight spotted seals were generally near the edge of the heavy ice in the central Bering Sea and were distributed between Anadyr Gulf and Nunivak Island.
December 30, 2019
See the attached map. From 16 to 30 December, we received locations for 1 bearded, 5 ringed, and 8 spotted seals. The adult bearded seal (BS19-01-M, red square) continued to make localized movements near UtqiaĔvik and Barrow Canyon. All five ringed seals were in heavy ice in the Chukchi Sea. As sea ice advanced south, the spotted seals tagged in Dease Inlet during September 2019 also moved south. During this period, 5 of the 7 spotted seals tagged moved into the Bering Sea. One of the 2 spotted seals remaining in the Chukchi Sea, SS19-05-M (purple circle), moved into the southern Chukchi Sea. Spotted seal SS18-02-M (brown circle), tagged near Scammon Bay in 2018, is still in the Bering Sea and is hauling out on sea ice between the mouth of the Yukon River and St. Lawrence Island.
December 16, 2019
See the attached map. From 2 to 16 December, we received locations for 1 bearded, 5 ringed, and 8 spotted seals. The adult bearded seal (BS19-01-M, red square) continued to make localized movements near UtqiaĔvik and Barrow Canyon. All five ringed seals were in the Chukchi Sea, one (RS19-02-M, yellow arrow) in the northeast between Point Lay and UtqiaĔvik, two (RS19-01-M, red arrow and RS19-05-M, purple arrow) in the central Chukchi Sea, and the remaining two in the southern Chukchi Sea, generally near Hope Basin. The seven spotted seals tagged in Dease Inlet during September 2019 are also still in the Chukchi Sea. SS19-03-M (yellow circle) was near Bering Strait. The remain six spotted seals were between Hope Basin and the central Chukchi Sea. Spotted seal SS18-02-M (brown circle), tagged near Scammon Bay in 2018, is still in the Bering Sea and is hauling out on sea ice between the mouth of the Yukon River and St. Lawrence Island.
December 3, 2019
See the attached map. From 9 November to 3 December, we received locations for 1 bearded, 5 ringed, and 8 spotted seals. The adult bearded seal (BS19-01-M, red square) continued to make localized movements near UtqiaĔvik and Barrow Canyon. All five ringed seals were in the Chukchi Sea, two (RS19-01-M, red arrow and RS19-02-M, yellow arrow) in the northeast between Point Lay and UtqiaĔvik, and the remaining three in the southern Chukchi, including RS19-03-M (orange arrow) that moved into Kotzebue Sound. The seven spotted seals tagged in Dease Inlet during September 2019 are also still in the Chukchi Sea. SS19-03-M (yellow circle) was near the entrance of Kotzebue Sound. The remain six spotted seals were in the eastern Chukchi Sea, generally between Point Lay and Point Hope, along the forming ice edge. Spotted seal SS18-02-M (brown circle), tagged near Scammon Bay in 2018, is still in the Bering Sea. This seal moved north from the barrier islands in Scammon Bay and is hauling out on sea ice between the mouth of the Yukon River and St. Lawrence Island.
November 9, 2019
See the attached map. From 13 October to 9 November, we received locations for 1 bearded, 5 ringed, and 8 spotted seals. The adult bearded seal (BS19-01-M, red square) made localized movements near UtqiaĔvik and Barrow Canyon. Three ringed seals (RS19-01-M, red arrow; RS19-04-M, blue arrow; and RS19-05-M, purple arrow) were in the eastern Chukchi Sea, generally in open water, but also moved along the Alaskan coast during this period. RS19-02-M (yellow arrow) was primarily in waters <200 m in the Beaufort Sea. RS19-03-M (orange arrow) moved from the northwestern Chukchi Sea to an area between mainland Russia and Wrangel Island near heavy ice. Spotted seals tagged in Dease Inlet during September were generally in the central Chukchi Sea. Five spotted seals moved between foraging areas in the central Chukchi and resting areas near Point Lay. SS19-03-M (yellow circle) moved into Kotzebue Sound and SS19-05-M (purple circle) moved near the north shore of the Chukotka Peninsula, Russia. Spotted seal SS18-02-M (brown circle) made localized movements and hauled out near Scammon Bay in the Bering Sea.
October 14, 2019
See the attached map. From 27 September to 14 October, we received locations for 1 bearded, 4 ringed, and 8 spotted seals. The adult bearded seal (BS19-01-M, red square) made localized movements between Dease Inlet and UtqiaĔvik. Two ringed seals (RS19-03-M, orange arrow and RS19-04-M, blue arrow) remained in the central north Chukchi Sea. RS19-02-M (yellow arrow) made localized movements near Barrow Canyon and RS19-05-M (purple arrow) moved south along the Alaskan Coast and entered Avak Inlet. Spotted seals tagged in Dease Inlet during September have entered the northeast Chukchi Sea, most have moved between foraging areas offshore of Icy Cape and resting areas near Icy Cape and Avak Inlet. Spotted seal SS18-02-M (brown circle) made localized movements and hauled out near Scammon Bay in the Bering Sea. Here is a more detailed map of seal movements in the northeast Chukchi and western Beaufort seas.
September 28, 2019
See the attached map. We are excited to announce that we tagged seven male spotted seals in Dease Inlet from 17 to 19 September. These seals were tagged as part of a collaborative effort between the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Arctic Marine Mammal Program and North Slope Borough, Department of Wildlife Management. We deployed CTD tags on 4 seals and SPLASH tags on the remaining 3 seals. We also deployed flipper (SPOT) tags on all seven seals. Six of the flipper-tags were provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Marine Mammal Laboratory.
From 13 to 28 September, we received locations for 1 bearded, 5 ringed, and 8 spotted seals. The adult bearded seal (BS19-01-M, red square) made localized movements in Barrow Canyon and areas north and west of UtqiaĔvik. Two ringed seals (RS19-01-M, red arrow and RS19-05-M, purple arrow) moved along the continental shelf break (200-m isobath) in the Chukchi and Beaufort sea. The remaining three ringed seals are in the northern Chukchi Sea. Three of the recently tagged spotted seals (SS19-02-M, blue circle; SS19-04-M, pink circle; SS19-07-M, orange circle) left Dease Inlet, moved into the northeast Chukchi Sea, and, at one point, hauled out near Icy Cape and Avak Inlet. The remaining four recently tagged spotted seals have stayed near Dease Inlet and UtqiaĔvik, generally remaining in the Beaufort Sea. Spotted seal SS18-02-M (brown circle) made localized movements and hauled out near Scammon Bay in the Bering Sea. Here is a more detailed map of seal movements in the northeast Chukchi and western Beaufort seas.
September 16, 2019
See the attached map. We are excited to announce that we tagged an adult male bearded seal in Dease Inlet on 9 September; very few adult bearded seals have been captured and tagged in Alaskan waters. This seal was tagged as part of a collaborative effort between Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Arctic Marine Mammal Program and North Slope Borough, Department of Wildlife Management staff. We deployed a CTD tag on BS19-01-M, as well as a flipper (SPOT) tag. The flipper tag was provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Marine Mammal Laboratory.
From 1 to 16 September, we received locations for 1 bearded, 5 ringed, and 1 spotted seal. Since being tagged, the adult bearded seal (BS19-01-M, red square) has left Dease Inlet and made localized movements in Barrow Canyon. Three ringed seals (RS19-01-M, red arrow; RS19-04-M, blue arrow; and RS19-05-M, purple arrow) moved along the continental shelf break (200-m isobath) in the Chukchi or Beaufort sea. The remaining two ringed seals are in the northern Chukchi Sea. Spotted seal SS18-02-M (brown circle) made localized movements and hauled out near Scammon Bay in the Bering Sea.
September 3, 2019
See the attached map. From 19 August to 3 September, we received locations for 5 ringed and 1 spotted seal. Two ringed seals (RS19-02-M, yellow arrow, and RS19-04-M, blue arrow) moved along the continental shelf break (200-m isobath) to an area northeast of UtqiaĔvik in the Beaufort Sea. RS19-01-M, red arrow, moved beyond the shelf break and into deeper water in the Beaufort Sea. Ringed seals RS19-03-M (orange arrow) and RS19-05-M (purple arrow) were near the continental shelf-break in the northern Chukchi Sea. Spotted seal SS18-02-M (brown circle) made localized movements and hauled out near Scammon Bay in the Bering Sea.
August 19, 2019
See the attached map. From 4 to 19 August, we received locations for 5 ringed and 1 spotted seal. Two ringed seals (RS19-01-M, red arrow, and RS19-04-M, blue arrow) moved east along the Beaufort Sea coast of Alaska; RS19-04-M moved into the eastern Beaufort Sea, near the outlet of the Mackenzie River, Canada. Ringed seals RS19-02-M (yellow arrow) and RS19-05-M (purple arrow) generally made localized movements near the continental shelf-break (200-m isobath) in the northern Chukchi Sea. RS19-03-M (orange arrow) stayed in the central Chukchi Sea. Spotted seal SS18-02-M (brown circle) made localized movements and hauled out near Scammon Bay in the Bering Sea.
August 5, 2019
See the attached map. From 21 July to 5 August, we received locations for 5 ringed and 1 spotted seal. Two ringed seals (RS19-01-M, red arrow, and RS19-04-M, blue arrow) moved north of the Beaufort-Chukchi shelf-break (200-m isobath) then returned to shallower waters of the Beaufort coast of Alaska. Ringed seals RS19-02-M (yellow arrow) and RS19-05-M (purple arrow) moved west along the Beaufort-Chukchi shelf-break (200-m isobath). RS19-03-M (orange arrow) moved west into the central Chukchi Sea. Spotted seal SS18-02-M (brown circle) made localized movements and hauled out near Scammon Bay.
July 22, 2019
See the attached map. From 8 to 22 July, we received locations for 1 bearded, 5 ringed, and 1 spotted seal. As sea ice has receded north, all five ringed seals moved west since the last update. Three ringed seals have moved west along the 200 m isobath, occasionally moving into waters deeper than 200 m (see āzoomed inā map). Ringed seal RS19-01-M (red arrow) stayed offshore in the Beaufort Sea and RS19-03-M (orange arrow) moved southwest into the Chukchi Sea. Bearded seal BS18-01-F (green square) was still in the northcentral Chukchi Sea, north of Wrangel Island, Russia. Spotted seal SS18-02-M (brown circle) made localized movements and hauled out near Scammon Bay.
July 8, 2019
See the attached map. From 24 June to 8 July, we received locations for 2 bearded, 5 ringed, and 1 spotted seal. All five ringed seals moved east of Point Barrow, toward Cape Halkett, staying close to remnants of sea ice (see āzoomed inā map). Bearded seal BS17-02-F (red square), tagged near Koyuk in September 2017, was still in the southern Chukchi Sea, north of the Chukotka Peninsula. Bearded seal BS18-01-F (green square) was still in the northcentral Chukchi Sea, north of Wrangel Island, Russia. Spotted seal SS18-02-M (brown circle) made localized movements and hauled out near Scammon Bay.
June 24, 2019
See the attached map. We are pleased to announce that five adult male ringed seals were tagged near UtqiaÄ”vik, Alaska, from 22 to 24 June. We deployed a CTD tag on RS19-01-M, RS19-02-M, and RS19-04-M, and a SPLASH tag on RS19-03-M and RS19-05-M. We also deployed flipper (SPOT) tags on all five seals. One of the five flipper tags was provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Marine Mammal Laboratory. All five ringed seals made localized movements near UtqiaÄ”vik. Because the tags deployed on these five ringed seals had only been transmitting for up to 3 days, the seals were still relatively close to their tagging location during this update period. Therefore, a second map shows the detail of their localized movements (āzoomed inā). From 10 to 24 June, we also received locations for seals tagged in 2017 and 2018: 2 bearded, 5 ringed, and 2 spotted seals. Bearded seal BS17-02-F, tagged near Koyuk in September 2017, was still in the southern Chukchi Sea, north of the Chukotka Peninsula. Bearded seal BS18-01-F (green square) was still in the northcentral Chukchi Sea, north of Wrangel Island, Russia. One spotted seal was in the Chukchi Sea; SS18-03-F (aqua circle) was near and hauled out on Icy Cape along the Alaskan coast. Spotted seal SS18-02-M (brown circle) made localized movements and hauled out near Scammon Bay. Maps can also be seen on the ADFG webpage. Sea ice data are courtesy of the U.S. National Ice Center, dated 24 June 2019.
