Erignathus barbatus (Bearded Seal) Vagrant in Massachusetts

Erignathus barbatus (bearded seals) have a circumpolar distribution and are most often found in areas of transient pack ice. On 30 April 2002, an adult bearded seal was observed hauled out on a floating dock within the inner harbor of Gloucester, MA (42°36.11′N, 70°39.42′W). This is the southern-most documented sighting of a bearded seal in the western North Atlantic. The seal remained in the area for at least a week. Although the distribution of other species of ice-breeding seals has shifted south in the last ten years, it is unknown if the current Massachusetts observation of a bearded seal is part of this same phenomenon.