2011 has been a very productive year for Seal Sitters. We signed a binding agreement with NOAA to respond to marine mammals from Brace Point (south of the Fauntleroy ferry dock) to Kayak Point (north of Everett in Snohomish County). Providing timely response for such an expansive region has been both challenging and rewarding.

THE STATS
This was a record breaking season for seal pups on shore. In 2011, Seal Sitters’ hotline fielded 724 calls from all over the Puget Sound region. Pupping season in South Puget Sound is late June - September, but our busiest months are September and October as pups leave the rookeries and strike out on their own. In those two months alone, the hotline handled 377 reports. Our West Seattle volunteers have logged over 150 responses to seal pups, looking after 51 different pups - a number of whom hauled out repeatedly for many days in a row (including Blanco shown above). Seal pup Spanky was a fixture on the rocks along Alki Beach, using the shoreline almost daily for two months, but had to be rescued twice from entrapment in the rocks. View a map that shows our West Seattle responses from August - December. And our Sno-King volunteers made numerous responses to marine mammals from the Seattle waterfront as far north as Tulalip. We had two unusual visitors to West Seattle and Ballard’s Golden Gardens: molting elephant seals. Seal Sitters’ investigators participated in the necropsy of the gray whale that died in Bremerton, as well as that of an adult female seal who had recently given birth in West Seattle (suspected to have been Tiny’s mom).

MEDIA
Seal pups Peaches and Sly became media celebrities in Associated Press and Seattle Times articles about our landmark season. The West Seattle Blog provided on-going reports of our activities. As is true each season, we had local TV coverage as well. The recent story of Frosty’s death was picked up by CNN to distribute internationally. WSDOT featured us on the homepage of the Washington State Ferries website.

PROJECTS
Seal Sitters received a second City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods in-kind grant award this year. As a result, a number of high-visibility projects were completed:

• Beach signage. We continued our informational beach signage project, installing a total of 12 signs along the shores of West Seattle.

• Share the Shore public service announcement. A 30 second video spot about harbor seal pups’ need to rest onshore was created and broadcast on major TV networks across Puget Sound.

• Share the Shore informational brochures. Over 5,000 pocket-sized brochures with info about the stranding network and seal pups were distributed at street fairs, outreach events and on the beach.

• Share the Shore street banners. 10 colorful banners with an illustration of a seal pup and the message “Share the Shore” were hung from light poles along Alki Beach during the months of September and October.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH
Dedicated volunteers like Christine, Nina and Connie donated thousands of hours of educational outreach on the beaches and at events, working the hotline and scheduling volunteers.
• We participated in a number of street fairs, including the Ballard Seafood Fest and Alki Art Fair, educating scores of people about marine mammals and NOAA’s NW stranding network.
• Seal Sitters co-sponsored two beach cleanups with the Alki Community Council, receiving TV coverage and raising awareness about marine debris.
• Volunteers made presentations at schools and participated in the Seattle Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Mania.
• Five training sessions (lecture and on-the-beach) were held for new volunteers in 2011.

Thanks to all our amazing volunteers and to the community for making this such a successful year. If you’d like to help support Seal Sitters’ work with a donation, please click here. We receive no funding for our on-going expenses and even the smallest amount helps defray the cost of our dedicated hotline, websites and supplies. We wish everyone a peaceful and happy new year.