Evento

A Sunset Seal Watch

May 4 update: Tickets may be purchased online here until 1 PM.
A limited number of tickets may be purchased at the Black Hawk dock at 5:30 PM.

EVERYONE should be at the dock at 5:30 PM!
Please wear sensible (not open-toed) shoes as the deck may be slippery. Bring a jacket & your camera. Looks like we have a wonderful evening ahead!

The Black Hawk is donating an exciting trip to view the many seals who live off New London. View these animals in their natural environment. It's a fundraiser for NLMS.

The seals are actually Maine natives who make Long Island Sound their winter/spring and sometimes permanent home. On this trip, we'll leave from Niantic and head out to Little Gull, Great Gull, and Plum Islands. Beginning in the 1800s, hunters harvesting seals for fur and oil virtually eliminated seals in Long Island Sound. Fishermen continued to kill seals believing they were competing with them for fish. In fact, up into the 1950s Connecticut offered seal hunters a bounty. From NOAA: The Marine Mammal Protection Act was enacted in 1972 and established a national policy to prevent marine mammal species and population stocks from declining beyond the point where they ceased to be significant functioning elements of the ecosystems of which they are a part. Following new federal regulations, seals began returning to LIS in the 1970s. Today five species can be found, many now making the Sound their permanent home. They've been reported as far west as Greenwich!

Bring your camera and binoculars. We'll bring a drink and snack! The boat leaves at 6, so plan to arrive at 5:30 PM. It's about a 2 hour round-trip. Sunset's at 7:58.
Tickets are $35 for adults, $30 for NLMS members, and $25 for children ages 6 to 18 (the same prices as in 2020!). Call 860-447-2501 with your questions or sign up online today.

If you use a GPS, use the address 133 Main Street, which will take you to Boats, Inc. Proceed about 200 yards, then just before you go over the Niantic River Bridge, take a left into Cini Memorial Park and the Black Hawk parking lot.

Photo: Donna Whitehouse (from our last seal watch!)