Spotted seal
Phoca largha
A spotted, dog-faced seal that hauls out on a few rocks off Korea's west coast, and no sighting is ever a promise.
Least Concern (IUCN, 2016) means the species as a whole is not close to being threatened, although the southern Yellow Sea group is treated as threatened by the United States.
Photos show the species, not always the places on this page.
Length
Adults average about 1.4 to 1.7 m (4.5 to 5.5 ft) (NOAA); lengths up to about 2.1 m (6.9 ft) are reported (Wikipedia)
Weight
Typically about 64 to 113 kg (140 to 250 lb) (NOAA); Wikipedia gives about 82 to 109 kg (180 to 240 lb)
Next to a person
About as long as a tall adult is tall, and as heavy as one to two adults
What it eats
Mostly fish, with some crustaceans and squid or octopus. Pacific herring and walleye pollock matter a lot across its range.
Around people
Wary, give space
How it lives
Lives up to about 30 to 35 years. Breeding runs from about January to April, with pup births peaking in mid-March. The Yellow Sea group breeds at Liaodong Bay in China, and the East Sea group at Peter the Great Bay in Russia.
Where it goes
Seals at Baengnyeong Island arrive in spring and leave in late autumn or early winter, heading north to breeding grounds in the Bohai Sea. They rest on two rocks, Mulbeom Rock and Yeonbong Rock. A young seal tracked by satellite stayed within 7 km of Yeonbong Rock from 6 October to 12 December.
We only draw a journey on the map when scientists have tracked it or clearly documented it. For this animal we have not found one yet.
Populations
Worldwide it is listed Least Concern by IUCN (assessed 2016), with no accurate range-wide count and an estimate of over 500,000 seals (NOAA). The southern group, in the Yellow Sea and Sea of Japan, is listed as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act. At Baengnyeong Island in South Korea, counts have stayed around 200 to 300 seals a year since surveys began in 2006, with a peak of 322 in 2008. A recent paper says the trend there is declining. In Korea the seal is a Natural Monument and a Class I endangered wildlife species.
Meet it respectfully
Watch from a distance and never come between a seal and the water. Never chase, approach, touch or feed seals, and keep boats slow and out of the haul-out area, because young seals are vulnerable to boat strikes. NOAA's guidance in US waters is at least 50 yards (about 45 m) and no more than 30 minutes, which is a sensible benchmark, but it is a US rule. I did not read Korean viewing rules, so follow local rules and your guide. A sighting is never a promise.
Fun fact
Tap the bulb to light it up.
Its fur is silver to grey-white with dark, irregular spots over the whole body, and its round head has a narrow, dog-like snout.
At Baengnyeong, the seals rest on Mulbeom Rock, which lies about 700 m offshore and goes under water at high tide.
A young seal fitted with a satellite tag sent 1,556 locations over 107 days, almost all within 7 km of one rock.
Spotted seal in the Ocean Atlas
Places we have researched where this animal is recorded. It is never guaranteed, and some places are for watching from the boat only.
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China
Japan
Russia
South Korea
United StatesSources for this page
- NOAA Fisheries, Spotted seal
- Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, first satellite tracking from Baengnyeongdo, 2023
- Animals, Spotted seal vessel strike in Korean waters, 2026
- Wikipedia, Spotted seal, 2026
Facts checked 5 October 2026. Photos: Unsplash licence, or Creative Commons as shown on each photo.
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