2025 Great Seal Reveal survey

In December 2024 and January 2025, the department and its Seabirds to Seascapes partners ran an educational campaign to raise awareness about this vital marine conservation project.

As part of the campaign, a public competition was launched to involve the community in renaming the seal survey initiative. The Great Seal Reveal was selected after receiving more than 150 creative entries. The strong response to the competition highlights the community's interest in protecting our marine wildlife. The new name also closely aligns with our other important initiative, The Great Big Little Penguin Count.

What is The Great Seal Reveal?

The Great Seal Reveal aims to identify key hotspot locations for large clusters of Australian and New Zealand fur seals across NSW waters, as well as population densities and features associated with preferred breeding habitats. This significant research is undertaken by:

• identifying key seal hotspots and using drones to better understand the seal population along the New South Wales coast
• asking citizen scientists to contribute by using our Haul-out, Call-out seal-spotting platform
• tracking seals that have been rehabilitated and released along the New South Wales coastline to monitor their preferred habitats
• collecting seal scats (poo) from accessible hot spots and analysing it to learn more about their health.

Why The Great Seal Reveal matters

Seals are vital to healthy marine ecosystems, but they face growing pressures from human activity. The Great Seal Reveal will help inform critical marine conservation initiatives in New South Wales by learning more about where seals gather and how they live. This information is crucial for effectively managing fur seal populations, including mitigating risks of human and seal interactions.