Harp Seal

 

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Classification:

Global Population

Description and Natural History

Physical Description
Males and female harp seals are approximately 1.7 meters (5.6 feet) long and weigh 130 kilograms (286 pounds). Mature adults have a silvery white background with a black, wishbone-shaped marking (harp) on the back. The harp starts behind the neck and sweeps down each side toward the hind flippers. Adults also have a dark head, ending in a ragged line just behind the ear holes and under the chin.

Pups, weighing about 10 kilograms (22 pounds), are born with a white lanugo (soft, wooly hair) and undergo a number of pelage changes on their way to adulthood.

Natural History

Harp seals inhabit the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans from northern Russia to Newfoundland and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada. They are separated into three populations based on where they breed: the White Sea off the coast of Russia ('East Ice'); between Jan Mayen and Svalbard (`West Ice'); and the `Gulf' and `Front' in the Northwest Atlantic. Harp seals are closely associated with pack ice and undertake spring migrations of up to 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) on their way to summer feeding grounds, returning south ahead of the new ice in the fall. All three populations exhibit similar patterns of annual migration, although the timing of specific events, such as pupping, varies slightly from place to place. Seals from the Northwest Atlantic population give birth to one pup between late February and mid-March; the White Sea population between mid-February and early March; and the Jan Mayen population from mid-March until April. Harp seals form large concentrations on the ice when pupping or molting. Studies for the Northwest Atlantic population show that the mean age at sexual maturity has changed from 4.6 years in the early 1980s to 5.6 years in the late 1990s. They tend to be active in the water and may travel in large groups. The harp seal diet varies with age, season, location and year. Analyses of stomach contents have revealed at least 67 species of fish and 70 species of invertebrates including Arctic cod, capelin, sand lance and herring. The 2000 population estimate for Northwest Atlantic harp seals was 5.2 million animals. The population is now showing signs of reaching the limit of its food base and may be declining as a result of increased sealing since 1996. In 1994, pup production and population size for the West Ice were estimated at 59,000 and 286,000, respectively. A 1998 survey in the White Sea found that pup production was on the order of 300,000 - 400,000, higher than previously thought. These results are consistent with a total population size of about 1.5 to 2.0 million animals.

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Status of the Species

Status
Not listed

Threats to the Species
All three populations are hunted annually. Over-exploitation, particularly in the Northwest Atlantic, and an expanding and unregulated trade in seal products, are threats.

Canada has a current total allowable catch of 975,000 harp seals between 2003 and 2005, with a maximum of 350,000 seals killed in any 2 of those years. Greenland sealers hunt the same population as the seals migrate between Newfoundland and the waters of Greenland. Norway hunts harp seals on the East and West Ice between March and May each year. Russia also hunts harp seals, especially on the East Ice.

Other potential threats include proposals to cull harp seal populations ostensibly to benefit fisheries; reduced food availability due to human overfishing or climate change; incidental catches in fishing gear; and environmental contaminants.

International Trade
Pelts, meat and penises are traded internationally.

Major importers: Norway (raw) , Canada (processed), China

Major exporters: Norway (processed), Canada (raw)

Penises are used in Traditional Medicine aphrodisiac preparations (e.g. wine, tonic, powder, pill, full form) ostensibly to increase virility.

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Authors and Sources

Sources
Anonymous. 2001. Harp seals and sealing in Canada: facts and figures 2001. International Marine Mammal Association Inc. 21pp.

Hannah, J.L. 2000. Seals of Atlantic Canada and the Northeastern United States. International Marine Mammal Association. 33pp.

Reijnders, P. S. Brasseur, J. van der Toorn, P. van der Wolf, I. Boyd, J. Harwood, D. Lavigne and L. Lowry. 1993. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan: seals, fur seals, sea lions, and walrus. IUCN/SSC Seal Specialist Group. 88pp.

Sjare, B., G.B. Stenson and W.G. Warren. Recent estimates of reproductive rates for harp seals in the Northwest Atlantic. DFO Canadian Stock Assessment Secretariat. Research Document 2000/077.

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