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
5 February 2004—4 July 2026
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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.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified Keeper Charters / Capt. Marco Lamothe, reported by Boston.com
Observation: Charter passengers spotted a seal pup resting on a boogie board off Old Orchard Beach, near Stratton Island. Capt. Marco Lamothe photographed the encounter. Species is not established by the account.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified Marine Mammals of Maine
Observation: A sub-adult harbor seal was found entangled in rope and chain from a mooring line off Goose Rocks Beach. MMoME disentangled the seal and released it after monitoring; release is not recorded as a separate sighting.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified Portland Press Herald / Marine Mammals of Maine
Observation: A juvenile harp seal was found stranded in Kennebunkport during the 2019 winter strandings. The later report describes it in Marine Mammals of Maine care; the record preserves the original finding location and does not treat rehabilitation as a second encounter.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified Marine Mammals of Maine
Observation: A weanling harbor seal was reported struggling at Old Orchard Beach. A volunteer found it at a healthy weight but lethargic with signs of an upper respiratory infection; the record describes the wild finding and response, not later rehabilitation as a separate sighting.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/6369228; https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/6370973
Observation: Seals were photographed on wave-washed rocks in Saco Bay near Old Orchard Beach during one outing.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/5231464
Observation: Harbor Seals were photographed around rocky outcrops in Wells Harbor.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/3457134
Observation: Many Harbor Seals were photographed on a rocky haul-out near Kittery.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/491509; https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/152304134
Observation: Seals were photographed in the Biddeford area.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/177270325
Observation: A seal was photographed swimming near Kennebunk.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/53402174; https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/53402610
Observation: Direct original iNaturalist pages and photographs reviewed. The same observer recorded two public points about 80 metres and 32 minutes apart: one live seal on wet rocks and about three seals swimming. These are grouped as one outing/group encounter. Harbor and Grey Seal IDs disagree, so species and count remain unset; displayed clock omitted.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified Gorio / Sharma Damren — Ogunquit Beach Inn
Observation: A harp seal was photographed sunning on Ogunquit Beach. The firsthand post describes the animal as female.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified Melanie Creamer — Portland Press Herald
Observation: A second adult harp seal was reported on Hills Beach.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified Karen Dandurant — Portsmouth Herald / SeacoastOnline
Observation: A dead harbor seal was found in Wells with its head cut off and letters carved in its side. The record preserves the animal's dead status and does not infer cause beyond the reported mutilation.