STATUS OF THE HARBOR SEAL, PHOCA-VITULINA, IN GREENLAND

The Harbour Seal (Phoca vitulina) has never been as abundant in Greenland as other species of seals, therefore it is of minor economic and nutritional importance. The Harbour Seal has been a highly prized prey due to its fine, silky hair, which is part of the Greenlandic national costume. The meat is claimed to be the most tasty of any of the seal species in Greenland. The Harbour Seal is the only seal that hauls out on land in Greenland, where from late May to August it breeds and moults on land in certain fjords and on some remote skerries. This behaviour makes the species particularly vulnerable to hunting, disturbance, oil spills etc. The Harbour Seal has been observed from Avanersuaq in Northwest Greenland, all the way round South Greenland, to Ittoqqortormiit on the east coast. The main historical distribution lies between Nunap Isua in South Greenland and Sisimiut in Central West Greenland. The present distribution is roughly believed to be the same, but at least 9 out of 23 previously known breeding places have now been abandoned. Harbour Seals are caught mainly between June and August, when the seals are hauled out on land. In the past decades the catch has decreased in all municipalities except for the southernmost, Nanortalik. Since the end of the 1940s, where the annual catch was about 300 animals, a significant decline of 5% per year has reduced the annual catches to approximately 40 animals in the recent years. Since 1960 adult seals have been protected from May through September, and certain municipalities have local sanctuaries and further hunting regulations. The hunting of subadults and pups has a negative effect on the rest of the population because of disturbance during the reproductive period. An aerial survey conducted in 1992 indicated that seven of 14 known Harbour Seal localities may still be in use. No seals were observed on land, but 12 Harbour seals were observed in the water close to four of these haulout localities. Severe ice conditions may have biased the results and no reliable figures on stock size are available at present. The remote geographical position of Greenland may cause limited possibilities for immigration, should the Harbour Seal be extirpated in Greenland waters.