Diet of harp seals (Phoca groenlandica) feeding between the breeding and moulting seasons in the southern Barents and White Seas

摘要

The harp seal Phoca groenlandica is the most abundant sealspecies in the Barents Sea. In order to evaluate the ecologicalimportance of the species, diet studies have recently beencarried out at various times of the year. In 1992, data werecollected from seals sampled between the breeding and moultingseasons (March-May). There is no doubt that the animals feedduring this period. From examinations of stomach and intestinecontents, harp seals, sampled in the southwestern parts(Varangerfjord, North Norway) of the Barents Sea, appeared tohave been feeding intensively on capelin Mallotus villosus. Theharp seal diet in the commercial hunting areas north of the WhiteSea (the East Ice) consisted of prawns Pandalus borealis,capelin, cod Gadus morhua, saithe Pollachius virens, sculpins(Cottidae), snailfish (Liparidae) and long rough dab(Hippoglossoides plattessoides). Feeding in the East Ice area andin the White Sea appeared to have been less intensive thanfurther to the west. In the White Sea the harp seals had beenfeeding mainly on crustaceans and the fishes sandeels(Ammodytidae), capelin and White Sea herring (Clupea harengusmarisalbi) .