On a small island in Liaodong Bay, Ma Zhiqiang shoots pictures, takes a headcount and makes notes about the island's inhabitants - spotted seals. Zhang Xiaomin / China Daily

Dalian Sunasia Ocean World, which has taken in more than 40 rescued spotted seals since 1999, is one of the largest bottle-feeding bases for spotted seals. Photos provided to China Daily

For years, a researcher has meticulously observed and made notes about the inhabitants of an island in the Bohai Sea.

The scientist is Ma Zhiqiang of the Liaoning Ocean and Fisheries Science Research Institute, and the inhabitants of the Liaodong Bay island that he has got to know intimately are spotted seals.

They swim in the Bohai Sea every November, and when it is frozen, from December to February, they give birth to babies at the edge of the ice floes in Liaodong Bay. They then scatter to different habitats around the sea.

Pups learn skills, and big ones molt before they swim out to the Pacific Ocean in May.

On April 2, Ma says he counted nearly 260 spotted seals, similar to the number he saw last year.

There is a national nature reserve for spotted seals in Dalian and illegal hunting has been put to an end, but economic development around Liaodong Bay is still a threat.

"I hope they can be listed as wildlife with first-class state protection," Ma says.

(China Daily European Weekly 05/09/2014 page4)