Panjin Spotted Seal Protection Association

Panjin Spotted Seal Protection Association (盘锦斑海豹保护志愿者协会) is a grassroots conservation group based in Liaoning Province, China, dedicated to protecting the endangered spotted seal (Phoca largha). Founded by environmentalist Tian Jiguang, the organization has played a pivotal role in monitoring seal populations, rescuing stranded individuals, and expanding protected wetland habitats. Despite facing political challenges, Tian’s efforts have galvanized thousands of volunteers and helped raise national awareness about the fragile marine ecosystems of Liaodong Bay.

Tian’s team has monitored seal populations using drones, noting a steady increase in recent years, and they are also ID-ing the seals who migrate between Liaodong Bay and Baengnyeongdo island, to check which seals are returning each year. Over 100 seals have been rescued in recent years thanks to local patrols and community involvement, and transported to the Spotted Seal Rescue Center for rehabilitation. Panjin Spotted Seal Protection Association also advocats for habitat protection in Liaodong Bay and surrounding wetlands and estuaries, and were instrumental in stopping a highway in the vicinity of important haul-out sites.

The Sandaogou Seal Protection Station, established in 2012, serves as a monitoring and coordination hub for spotted seal conservation in Panjin. Located just outside the seals’ primary resting area, the station enables population tracking, rescue efforts, and community education, while minimizing human interference in critical habitats.

The organization has been called multiple names in English publications, probably due to translation inaccuracies, among them Association of Volunteers for the Protection of Spotted Seals, Panjin Wetland Protection Association, and Panjin Harbor Seal Protection Volunteer Association (spotted seals are often mistranslated as harbor seals, which are not native in China).