Possible Impacts of Ice Related Mortality on Trends in the Northwest Atlantic harp seals population ...

• Main Authors: Hammill, M.O., Stenson, G.B.
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: unknown
• Published: ASC 2008 - Theme session B 2024
• Subjects: Arctic Sea FAO area 18; Ecosystem observation, processes and dynamics; Arctic; Harp Seal; North Atlantic; Northwest Atlantic
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.17895/ices.pub.25243480; https://ices-library.figshare.com/articles/conference_contribution/Possible_Impacts_of_Ice_Related_Mortality_on_Trends_in_the_Northwest_Atlantic_harp_seals_population/25243480

No abstracts are to be cited without prior reference to the author.The harp seal is a medium sized highly migratory phocid distributed over continental shelf regions of the north Atlantic. The Northwest Atlantic population currently numbers around 5.5 million animals and is harvested commercially and for subsistence purposes. Harp seals use pack ice to haul out on, to give birth and nurse their young. After weaning the young of the year (YOY) remain with the ice, which they use as a resting platform. The harp seal population is assessed approximately every 4 years using a population model that relies upon independent estimates of pup production obtained from aerial surveys. Since the current harvest is focused on YOY animals, the impact of any unusual mortality will not be reflected in the assessment for at least two decades later. In the Gulf of St. Lawrence, poor ice conditions, which are thought to lead to increased mortality among young animals, have been observed in 6 of the last 10 years. A factor to ...