New England · 2000—2026
Grey and harbour seals
Seals around New England.
Follow public seal observations from New England. Browse published records, explore the places and stories behind them, or share an encounter with the Seal Watch team.
- Total reports
- 443
- Latest observation
Public reports · newest first
Public records archive
6 March 2005—3 December 2025
Follow updates
Receive alerts for new public reports. Lock-screen alerts show only a broad area in New England.
Checking notification support on this device…
30 of 443 reports
Loading public records…
Public records could not be loaded. Check your connection and try again.
Explore by place
All placesMarkers group reports by reviewed names in their public locations, not exact sighting positions. Circle size reflects report counts. Select a place to filter the archive.
350 of 443 reports mapped · 19 places
New England Six-state outline
Reported places Detail of outlined region
Mapped places North to south
- Eastern Maine12 reports
- Bangor Waterfront1 report
- Downeast Maine / Acadia51 reports
- Midcoast Maine41 reports
- Casco Bay / Portland16 reports
- Southern Maine13 reports
- Seacoast / Isles of Shoals6 reports
- Massachusetts North Shore30 reports
- Boston Harbor / Charles River13 reports
- Holyoke / Connecticut River1 report
- Outer Cape Cod40 reports
- Plymouth / South Shore12 reports
- Lower Cape Cod47 reports
- Mid Cape Cod6 reports
- South Cape / Buzzards Bay17 reports
- Rhode Island coast17 reports
- Martha's Vineyard4 reports
- Connecticut coast15 reports
- Nantucket8 reports
Places without a map point · 93 reports
Broad or unreviewed public locations remain available in the archive.
- Barnstable County10 reports
- Barnstable County waters1 report
- Barnstable County, Massachusetts3 reports
- Brothers Island4 reports
- Bunker Ledge1 report
- Cape Cod3 reports
- Cape Cod / Barnstable1 report
- Cape Cod National Seashore1 report
- Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts1 report
- Cape Cod, Massachusetts1 report
- Hancock County2 reports
- Hancock County, Maine1 report
- Jeffreys Ledge1 report
- Knox County1 report
- Lincoln County2 reports
- Long Island1 report
- Maine coast3 reports
- Maine coastal island, public place only1 report
- Massachusetts coast1 report
- Massachusetts coastal waters1 report
- New England44 reports
- New Hampshire coast, exact site unspecified1 report
- Newport County1 report
- Plymouth County1 report
- Sagadahoc1 report
- Southeastern Stellwagen Bank area1 report
- Washington County1 report
- Washington County, Maine1 report
- West Brother Island1 report
- York County1 report
Map: Natural Earth.
Reports over time
Select a year, then a month. Counts describe published reports; one animal may appear in several reports.
Grouped by each record’s archive date. Approximate dates keep their original labels in the records below.
-
Date:Reported: Unidentified Nolan Casimir — iNaturalist (naturenolan)
Observation: Photographic observation identified on iNaturalist as harbour seal (Phoca vitulina).
-
Date:Reported: Unidentified Jonathan Layman — iNaturalist (jlayman)
Observation: Photographic observation identified on iNaturalist as harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus).
-
Date:Reported: Unidentified gardnero — iNaturalist
Observation: Photographic observation identified on iNaturalist as grey seal (Halichoerus grypus atlantica).
-
Date:Reported: Unidentified Chaffee Monell — iNaturalist (chaffeemonell)
Observation: Photographic observation identified on iNaturalist as harbour seal (Phoca vitulina).
-
Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/6582529
Observation: One Harbor Seal was photographed hauled out on a sandbar in Plum Island Sound.
-
Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/18402429
Observation: One Grey Seal was photographed swimming near Rockport.
-
Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/5212381
Observation: Two Harbor Seals were photographed resting on low rocks near Salisbury State Beach.
-
Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/5022792
Observation: One Harbor Seal was photographed swimming near Jodrey State Fish Pier.
-
Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/4957540
Observation: One Harbor Seal was photographed resting on a rock near Rockport.
-
Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/4853615
Observation: One Harbor Seal was photographed with its head above the water in Gloucester Inner Harbor.
-
Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/61489535
Observation: A seal was photographed washed ashore near Nahant.
-
Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/15167776
Observation: A seal was photographed in the water near Gloucester Harbor.
-
Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/2711844
Observation: A Grey Seal was photographed swimming near Jodrey Fish Pier.
-
Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/2646698
Observation: Several Harbor Seals were photographed on rocks near Salisbury Beach.
-
Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/36868588
Observation: Several Harbor Seals were photographed on rocks near Gloucester.
-
Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/11068772
Observation: A Grey Seal was photographed swimming near Merrimack.
-
Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/3391083
Observation: A small seal was photographed on rocks near Halibut Point.
-
Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/192249702
Observation: A Harbor Seal was photographed resting near Ipswich.
-
Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/46483265
Observation: A dead seal carcass was photographed on Plum Island.
-
Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/230995556
Observation: A live group of seals was photographed on rocks near Newbury.
-
Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/1102766
Observation: One seal was photographed hauled out at Salisbury Beach.
-
Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/65750335
Observation: Several seals were photographed hauled out near Salisbury.
-
Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/483251
Observation: A seal was photographed hauled out near Parker River National Wildlife Refuge.
-
Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/65750264
Observation: Direct original iNaturalist page and photograph reviewed. One live Grey Seal is in water.
-
Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/261380636
Observation: Direct original iNaturalist page and photograph reviewed. At least three Harbor Seals are hauled out; structured count remains unset.
-
Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/18643983
Observation: Direct original iNaturalist page and photograph reviewed. One Harbor Seal is swimming; observer note confirms place and species. No photo uploaded.
-
Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/4574257
Observation: Direct original iNaturalist page and photograph reviewed. One Harbor Seal is curled on a rock. Resting posture is insufficient to establish death; condition remains uncertain and no photo is uploaded.
-
Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/6254571
Observation: Direct original iNaturalist page and photograph reviewed. Many live Harbor Seals are on a low rock in water; count is unset.
-
Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/13441345; https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/27080199; https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/33587899
Observation: Direct original iNaturalist pages and photographs reviewed. Three observers' records fall on the same date and within roughly 150 m in Gloucester, with very similar views of one harbor seal in water; consolidated as one encounter. One source page shows a clock in another timezone, so no observation time is preserved.
-
Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/65750393
Observation: Direct original iNaturalist observation reviewed. Source IDs: 65750393. Original page has visible photograph asset and research-grade harp seal identification.