PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A century ago, seals were rare in New England — the victims of fishermen and others who viewed them as fish-gobbling nuisances.
The last time anybody counted, in 2001, there were about 100,000 harbor seals in the region. Scientists have now kicked off the first seal survey in a decade to determine how many there are now.
Scientists say indicators suggest the population has continued to grow in the past 10 years. The census got under way in April when seals were captured off Cape Cod and Maine and had small radio transmitters attached to them to help get a more accurate count.
Surveyors will fly along the Maine coast in late May to take photographs and count the numbers of seals in the photos. They’ll use that base number to estimate the total number.
