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2018–2019 Ice Seal Unusual Mortality Event in Alaska (CLOSED)

NOAA Fisheries closed the investigation into the Unusual Mortality Event affecting stranded bearded, ringed, and spotted seals in Alaska.

Alaska

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Dead Spotted Jpeg.jpg

Dead spotted seal stranding near Kotlik, Alaska. Credit:  Harold Okitkun

NOAA Fisheries closed the investigation into the Unusual Mortality Event (UME) affecting stranded bearded, ringed, and spotted seals in Alaska, acting on a recommendation from the Working Group on Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Events. The UME occurred from June 1, 2018 through December 31, 2019 with peak strandings between June 1, 2018 and August 31, 2019. NOAA Fisheries and partners investigated the event.

During the event, 284 ice seals stranded—including 97 bearded seals, 75 ringed seals, 48 spotted seals, and 64 seals of unidentified species. Out of the 284 stranded seals, 275 seals were dead and 9 seals stranded alive. Only 32 of the stranded seals were adults; the rest were younger age classes (pups, yearlings, or sub-adults). Most dead stranded seals were in moderate to advanced states of decomposition, and the most common finding in examined animals was malnutrition. The Investigative Team and the Working Group on Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Events concluded that the preliminary cause of the UME was ecosystem changes in the Bering Sea causing impacts on prey availability leading to malnutrition and death observed in stranded seals.

Ice Seal Strandings in Alaska from June 1, 2018 through December 31, 2019

YearBeardedRingedSpottedUnidentifiedTotal
2018 (June 1-Dec 31)47342218121
2019 50412646163
Total97754864284

 

A bar chart showing the number of confirmed ice seal strandings in the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas between 2016 and 2023. Two bars (2018 and 2019) appear in orange to depict UME years.
Total number of confirmed ice seal strandings by year in the northern Bering Sea and the eastern Chukchi Sea. Orange color represents the seals included in the 2018-2019 Alaska Ice Seal Unusual Mortality Event. Teal color represents ice seal strandings before or after the Alaska Ice Seal UME. In the 2018 column, the three ice seals stranded before the UME period are shown in the teal portion of the column.

 

A GIS map showing the locations in Alaska where stranded ice seals were reported. Red dots represent beached animals and blue dots represent floating animals. Stranding reports were predominantly in the northern Bering Sea and eastern Chukchi Sea.
The coastal communities where stranding reports were confirmed for ice seals, either beached (in red) or floating (in blue).

How to Report a Dead Seal

The public should report dead, injured, or sick marine mammals by calling NOAA’s Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network at (877) 925-7773 or contact local wildlife authorities at the following numbers:

North Slope Borough: North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management: (907) 852-0350

Bering Strait Region:

  • UAF Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program: (907) 443-2397 / (907) 434-1149
  • Eskimo Walrus Commission: (877) 277-4392
  • Kawerak, Inc, Subsistence Program: (907) 443-4265

Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region:  UAF Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program: (907) 443-2397 / (907) 434-1149

All marine mammals are federally protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). Only local and state officials and people authorized by NOAA Fisheries may legally handle live and dead marine mammals. However, the MMPA exempts Alaska Native takes of marine mammals for subsistence purposes or for the purpose of creating and selling authentic native articles of handicrafts and clothing, provided it is not done in a wasteful manner (16 U.S.C. 1371(b)). 

Additional Information

Last updated by Alaska Regional Office on 12/04/2024

Unusual Mortality Event Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding National Stranding Network Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program