Hooded seals are common to eastern Canadian arctic and subarctic waters, but wandering individuals have been spotted as far south as Puerto Rico. Outside of the breeding season, which they spend on ice floes, hooded seals frequent deep water and are known to travel great distances. Historically, only a few hooded seals have been sighted in southern New England waters. Since the late 1980s, however, these numbers have been increasing. The change seems to be due to shifts in distribution rather than an increase in population.
Hooded seals lead solitary lives for most of the year.
Since then, the market for seal coats has evaporated and hooded seals are much less frequently hunted. Hooded seals have been protected in the U.S. since 1972 when Congress passed the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which prohibits the taking of wild seals in U.S. waters except by permit. The New England Aquarium is authorized by the National Marine Fisheries Service to care for sick or stranded marine mammals. Approximately 6-12 hooded seals, mostly pups, are picked up by the New England Aquarium each year.