A new project is underway. Researchers are collaborating with museum staff in a project to assess the viability of a new site to develop for seal watching and outdoor recreation on Vatnsnes. In order to do this, we have set up two camera traps that record photographs at a set interval of time all day. Researchers then stop in to collect memory cards once each week while they are out counting seals at known haul-outs.
Seals prefer hauling out on skerries that are separated from land by a channel of water. Many of these skerries are more than 100 m from land. In order to set up automatic cameras to photograph seals up close would mean attaching the cameras directly to the skerry. This may be done at some point in the future if funding is acquired. In that case, we would be setting up cameras on those skerries that rise far enough out of the water to remain exposed at high tide. That does not fall within the scope of this pilot project, but is certainly something we are interested in. The cameras we have set up are easily accessible from land with minimal disturance of the seals in the area. If we get the chance to put cameras on serries, we will expect to leave them there for a much longer period between maintenance trips, so as to avoid disturbing the seals.
The trail cameras that we currently own needed to be placed at some distance from where the seals haul out. At the location we have chosen, there are two skerries close together and the landowner has told us that a large group of seals congregates here with some regularity. So, we set up two cameras to cover the entirety of the two skerries. These cameras will be in place for some months. All seals observed will be recorded and that data will contribute to the assessment of this location as a possible new seal watching site.
Photographs from this project will soon be on display at the Seal Center Museum in Hvammstangi. Looking carefully at images such as these that are taken from some distance is a good way to train your eye to recognize seals even before you can see them clearly. Seals are often easily visible from Iceland’s coastal roads, if you know what to look for. While there are some designated seal watching areas on Vatnsnes and in a few other places in Iceland, a vigilant passenger in the car is likely to spot seals in unmarked spots. Photographs such as the one above can help you to find seals here and elsewhere.
As with many of the projects conducted here, funding for this project comes from outside the Seal Center. Specifically, we appreciate the funding we have received from the National Marine Aquarium for this project.
