Baltic Team Finds Dead Seals - Oceana USA
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May 18, 2012

Baltic Team Finds Dead Seals

Our Baltic expedition came upon a sad sight this week: a dozen baby seals lying dead on the seafloor.

The team found the bodies while diving in Bogskär islet off of Finland, home to a small grey seal colony. The dead seals were about six months old, and one was found near a dead adult. The cause of death is a mystery—there were no visible injuries and the rest of the colony appeared to be healthy.

The deaths are being investigated, and hopefully we will find an answer to this tragedy. It’s possible that the seals were accidently caught and drowned in nets and then dumped back into the sea. They may also have suffered from a viral outbreak. Whatever happened, here’s hoping that it was an isolated incident and that the colony is able to recover from the loss of so many young seals.

Our team documented the dive on video (warning: graphic footage), and more details can be found in our press release.