Harbor Seal

Erika and I photographed Harbor Seals (and an attendant Double-crested Cormorant) at Woodard Bay Conservation Area on 15 August 2019. The seals appear to be unconcerned about the debate among Washington wildlife managers and legislators. This debate will greatly affect the seals. Both the seals and Orca Whales eat salmon. For a variety of reasons, southern resident Orcas are becoming rare—only 75 remain in Puget Sound, a record low number over the past 30 years. One of the proposed solutions is to cull seal populations, which would presumably increase salmon for Orcas to eat. The Washington legislature introduced a bill that would permit “maximum lethal take” of seals. An alternative plan calls for the removal of logs and rafts upon which the seals bask. One problem to finding a solution is that the situation involves more  than seal and salmon interaction. (For example, at Woodard Bay, abandoned piers provide roosting sites for large numbers of roosting bats.) For more information on seals and orcas, see https://www.nwpb.org/2019/04/12/wildlife-managers-kindly-ask-northwest-seals-and-sea-lions-to-stop-eat-so-much-salmon-or-else/.