Local History: Seals and Society

Seals and Society: Lessons on Conservation, Resilience, Research and Discovery
with Dr. Andrea Bogomolni

Between 1880 and 1962, gray and harbor seals were targeted in legal seal bounty hunts across Maine and Massachusetts due to a perceived competition with commercial fisheries. Following their extirpation 50 years ago, legislative protections allowed seals to recolonize historical grounds along the New England coast. With this conservation success story, conflict has re-emerged as seen in the numerous media articles reflecting a temperament beckoning to the past century, with calls to cull the population and the spread of misinformation. While seals are endemic to the region, the return of seals after decades of near-absence to New England has created a new ecological and psychological baseline for New Englanders where for three generations, seals were rarely present.

Now more than ever, there is a need to understand the role seals play in our ecosystem and to understand their role as sentinel species in the Gulf of Maine (and beyond). Through collaborative research and engagement, much is being learned across the region. Dr. Andrea Bogomolni will be sharing insights into how we study seals, what we are learning about their place in the greater ecosystem and what seals are telling us about ocean and human health.

Registration is required.

Dr. Andrea Bogomolni (Dr. Dre) is a community scientist as well as many other “-ists”: a naturalist, artist, biologist and conservationist with a passion for the ocean.  Working with a range of collaborators from scientists, to fishermen and to artists, she aims to understand not just seals, but our human relationship with the natural world and ways we can help preserve, protect and sustainably make use of the limited resources nature provides.  She has an interdisciplinary skill-set in scientific research, education and outreach. Her Bachelor’s degrees are in studio art and wildlife, fisheries and conservation biology from UC Davis, her Master’s is in marine biology from Boston University and her Doctorate is in pathobiology and veterinary science with a certificate in public health from UCONN. She was a postdoctoral fellow and guest investigator at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She has taught marine mammal science and conservation courses at several institutions and began the seal research program at the Shoals Marine Lab a decade ago. She currently teaches Marine Mammal Biology at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and is the Chair and co-founder of the Northwest Atlantic Seal Research Consortium.  Through all her work, she hopes to amplify the voices of those that can provide the knowledge needed to mitigate human impacts as we manage ocean ecosystems.