Study tracks rescued seal survival in Puget Sound

SEATTLE — The National Marine Fisheries Service is putting transmitters on rescued harbor seals in Puget Sound to study how long they survive when they are released back into the wild.

The Seattle Times reported the $135,000 study could help determine whether the federal agency should be spending any money to save seal pups found on beaches.

The feds spend $500,000 to $700,000 a year in Washington and Oregon and far more in California for stranded marine mammals. About 30 seals a year are rehabilitated in Washington at a cost of about $3,000 per animal for round-the-clock care.

There is no need from a conservation point of view to save the animals in Puget Sound where the population is already at capacity.