Seal population rebounds in NE China's Liaodong Bay (3)

A staff member feeds a spotted seal pup at the Liaoning Ocean and Fisheries Science Research Institute in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province, April 15, 2026. Five spotted seals were released into waters off the coast of Dalian on Thursday. Three of them were rescued and rehabilitated by the Liaoning Ocean and Fisheries Science Research Institute, while the other two were artificially bred by Sunasia Ocean World in Dalian.

As a national first-class protected species, the spotted seal is the only pinniped marine mammal to breed in Chinese waters. They migrate to the Liaodong Bay in the Bohai Sea between October and December each year and stay here to give birth and nurse pups. They remain here until around mid-to-late April, when they gradually swim out of the Bohai Sea to begin their return journey.

To protect and expand the wild population of spotted seals, Dalian has institutionalized rescue and artificial breeding efforts, releasing adult spotted seals back into the sea once they meet health standards and complete rewilding training. (Xinhua/Han He)