2017 Harbor Seal Monitoring Update

Unfortunately, this year, we were unable to survey Double Point due to safety concerns at the observation location. Double Point counts were removed from previous data in order to make appropriate comparisons to this year.

The peak pup count for the 2017 breeding season was approximately 745 pups, which is similar to the 17-year average. There was also very low pup mortality recorded at all sites. The sites with the largest pup counts were Drakes Estero (317) and Bolinas Lagoon (254). Bolinas Lagoon continues to increase in pups, with this being the highest count ever recorded at this site.

Following the breeding season, harbor seals of all age classes and sexes haul out on a daily basis to molt. The molt process consists of seals shedding their old fur and growing a new layer. The maximum molt count of all sites combined was approximately 2,630 seals, which is similar to the 17-year average. Although, a closer look at the individual sites shows that most sites had peak counts that were less than their respective averages, except for Bolinas Lagoon and Point Bonita. Bolinas Lagoon had a maximum count of 770 seals, which is much higher than the average count of 490 seals. The trend of increasing molt counts at this site has been seen since 2014 and the counts for both the 2017 and 2015 seasons are the highest counts ever recorded at Bolinas Lagoon.

Preliminary Data

Maximum Harbor Seal Count By Site

Maximum harbor seal counts by survey site.

Total Weekly Maximum Harbor Seal Counts

Total weekly maximum harbor seal counts across all Marin County monitoring sites.

The Details: Weekly Maximum Harbor Seal Counts By Site

Maximum weekly harbor seal counts by site and survey week

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Where this belongs

• Golden Gate National Recreation Area
• Point Reyes National Seashore

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