STORY: 10 spotted seals released into ocean off NE China's Dalian
SHOOTING TIME: April 16, 2024
DATELINE: April 20, 2024
LENGTH: 0:01:26
LOCATION: DALIAN, China
CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENT

SHOTLIST:
1. various of 10 spotted seals being released into the waters off China's coastal city of Dalian
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): ZHANG SHENGJIU, Vice general manager of Dalian Sun Asia Tourism Holding Co., Ltd.
3. various of 10 spotted seals being released into the waters off China's coastal city of Dalian
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): LU ZHICHUANG, Vice president of Liaoning Ocean and Fisheries Science Research Institute

STORYLINE:

Ten spotted seals were released into the waters off the coastal city of Dalian in northeast China's Liaoning Province on Tuesday.

Some of these seals had been rescued by the Liaoning Ocean and Fisheries Science Research Institute, while the others were artificially bred pups.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): ZHANG SHENGJIU, Vice general manager of Dalian Sun Asia Tourism Holding Co., Ltd.
"These spotted seals have received professional wilderness training, such as how to prey on live fish, in order to adapt to the wild soon."

The spotted seals were also equipped with an identification code and a satellite tracking and positioning system, allowing the monitoring of their migration paths and places of stay, to further study their living habits.

Under top-class national protection in China, the spotted seal is the only pinniped marine mammal to breed in Chinese waters.

In recent years, various departments in China have beefed up protection efforts on the species, such as setting up joint mechanisms, habitats, and launching breeding and release campaigns.

Thanks to the consistent efforts, the population of spotted seals in the Liaodong Bay remains at around 2,000 while seeing an increasing trend.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): LU ZHICHUANG, Vice president of Liaoning Ocean and Fisheries Science Research Institute
"During the past over 10 years, we have consistently monitored spotted seals' landing spots to observe the changes in their numbers. In recent years, by monitoring the landing spots in Liaoning and Shandong provinces, we have seen a steady increase in their numbers."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Dalian, China.
(XHTV)