In 2023, co-created with several partners, and with the support of the David P. Wheatland Charitable Trust and U.S. Naval Undersea Warfare Center, the New Bedford Whaling Museum launched a 12-panel traveling exhibition Seals and Society. This multi-panel exhibit dives into the daily lives of these specially-adapted animals, with a focus on harbor and gray seals, the two most locally abundant species in the northeast region. Stunning photographs, custom graphics, and up-to-date research data bring the viewer into the seals’ watery world to help us understand their world and our complex human relationships to these animals over millennia.

That relationship has changed in a variety of ways over the past 4,000 years and continues to evolve as seals rebound in our region. We invite you to join moderator, Robert Rocha, our Associate Director of Science and Research, as he leads a discussion with Dr. Andrea Bogomolni, Chair of the Northwest Atlantic Seal Research Consortium and Kimberly Murray, Research Biologist & Seal Team Lead, NOAA, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Protected Species Division. You are encouraged to view www.sealsandsociety.com for more information on this topic.