Geography and stage of development affect persistent organic pollutants in stranded and wild-caught harbor seal pups from central California

► We measured PCBs, DDTs, PBDEs, HCHs, CHLDs and pesticides in harbor seal blubber. ► Harbor seal pups were grouped by stage of development and whether they suckled or were fed an artificial diet. ► Pups in poor body condition that suckled in the wild were the most contaminated. ► A subset of pups that did not suckle or eat artificial diet was grouped by birth location. ► Pups from San Francisco Bay had more PCBs and pups from Monterey Bay had more pesticides.