Abstract
This paper presents a review of available published and unpublished material on the ringed seal (Phoca hispida) in the western part of the Russian Arctic, including the White, Barents and Kara seas. The purpose of the review is to discuss the status of ringed seal stocks in relation to their primary habitat, the history of sealing, and a recent harvest of the species in the region. The known primary breeding habitats for this species are in the White Sea, the south-western part of the Barents Sea, and in the coastal waters of the Kara Sea, which are seasonally covered by shore-fast ice. The main sealing sites are situated in the same areas. Female ringed seals become mature by the age of 6, and males by the age of 7. In March-April a female gives birth to one pup in a breeding lair constructed in the shore-fast ice. The most important prey species for ringed seals in the western sector of the Russian Arctic are pelagic fish and crustaceans. The maximum annual sealing level for the region was registered in the first 70 years of the 20th century: the White Sea maximum (8,912 animals) was registered in 1912; the Barents Sea maximum (13,517 animals) was registered in 1962; the Kara Sea maximum (13,200 animals) was registered in 1933. Since the 1970s, the number of seals harvested has decreased considerably. There are no data available for the number of seals harvested annually by local residents for their subsistence.
Highlights
This paper presents a review of available published and unpublished material on the ringed seal (Phoca hispida) in the western part of the Russian Arctic, including the White, Barents and Kara seas
Ice conditions are known to play an important role in the life cycle of the ringed seal
The ringed seal inhabits all seas of the Russian Ar~tic from the Barents Sea to the Bering Strait
Summary
The ringed seal inhabits all seas of the Russian Ar~tic from the Barents Sea to the Bering Strait. The Barents Sea According to Geptner et al (1976) , the ringed seal inhabits the coastal region of the Kola Peninsula There it prefers areas with complex shore lines more or less protected from heavy wave action. Animals leave the region in late March, when the whole strait is covered with ice. The ringed seal is one of the few marine mammals whose reproduction is closely associated with the sea ice (shore-fast ice in particular). This region seems to accumulate the most female ringed seals, and according to Lukin (1981), about 4,400 females breed in this region. To compare these data with those presented by Lukin (1981) and Potelov (1986) it is necessary to note that the recent figures refer to all sex and age classes of seals occurring in a particular area, while
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