The Marine Animal Identification Network
Help Identify and Track Tagged and Uniquely Identifiable Marine Animals
Have you seen a marine animal in the natural environment? Perhaps one with unique markings or exhibiting an interesting behavior? Maybe you've seen one that has been tagged by scientists.
The Marine Animal Identification Network (MAIN) provides a database of these sightings and information about these tags. You can search tags here. The site is intended to make it easy for everyone to report their marine animal sightings, and in the process to learn more about their activities and to help develop a scientific database for further study.
Help Us Re-Identify Tagged Gray Seal Pups!!!
Gray Seal Pup, Monomoy Island, MA
Gray Seal known as “Mr.T.” with Identifiable markings. Mr. T has been re-sighted for 10 years at the Isles of Shoals, ME.
Harbor seal with Orange Flipper Tag.
Last updated: October 1, 2020
Seal Capture Team Restraining a Gray Seal Pup (Photo credit Noel Vezzi NOAA NMFS Permit # 17670-02)
Seal Captured (Photo credit Milton Levin NOAA NMFS permit # 17670-02)
Follow Gracie, an adult female gray seal tagged in Chatham, MA June 2013.
Embed this Badge to your site and help report a tagged animal:
<a href="http://main.whoi.edu"><img src="http://www.whoi.edu/home/images/MAINicon.jpg" height="200" width="200" alt="Marine Identification Network" /></a>
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Marine mammal researchers are capturing, tagging, sampling, and releasing weaned gray seal pups on islands near Cape Cod and Nantucket to learn more about the influenza A virus in the gray seal population and fill out a picture of pup movements while gathering samples that will reveal more about stock health, gray seal ecology, and habitat use. Data gathered will also be used to model the population and detect demographic changes.