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Western Atlantic Harbor Or Common Seal

Scientific Name Phoca vitulina

Photo Taken At Buttonwood Park Zoo, New Bedford, Massachusetts, USA

IUCN Red List Status Least Concern

Population

Available data on Harbor Seal abundance were compiled and reviewed in the 2016 Red List assessments for the five recognized subspecies.Estimates of the number of mature individuals, and population trend, for each of those subspecies were as follows:Eastern Atlantic Harbor Seal--65,000, trend unknownWestern Atlantic Harbor Seal--60,000, trend unknownEastern Pacific Harbor Seal--170,000, increasingKuril Seal--<10,000, trend unknownUngava Seal--50, trend unknownCombining those estimates, the total number of mature Harbor Seals worldwide is about 315,000. Bjorge et al. (2010) estimated the total worldwide population of Harbor Seals as approximately 610,000-640,000. The overall trend in numbers is unknown. Read More

Threats

Historically, there have been organized population reduction programs and bounty schemes for Harbor Seals in some range states, largely because of perceived competition with fisheries. Hunting and/or licensed killing to protect fisheries has largely been eliminated but subsistence hunting by Alaska Natives is allowed in the US. In the eastern Atlantic, Harbor Seal population reduction programs date from the early 1980s and 1990s in Iceland and Scotland, respectively (Bowen and Lidgard 2012) and continue at some level today (e.g., Butler et al. 2008). An extermination program at the beginning of the 20th century dramatically depleted Harbor Seals in the Baltic ... Read More

Region

europe

Geographic Range

Harbor Seals are one of the most widespread of the pinnipeds. They are found throughout coastal waters of the northern hemisphere, from temperate to polar regions. Five subspecies are recognized: the Eastern Atlantic Harbor Seal occurs in the eastern Atlantic from Brittany to the Barents Sea in northwestern Russia and north to Svalbard, with occasional sightings as far south as northern Portugal, the Western Atlantic Harbor Seal occurs in the western Atlantic from the mid-Atlantic United States to the Canadian Arctic and east to Greenland and Iceland, the Ungava Seal only lives in a few lakes and rivers in northern ... Read More

Habitat

Harbor Seals live mostly in the coastal waters of the continental shelf and slope, and are commonly found in bays, rivers, estuaries, and intertidal areas. They also occur in some lakes (Burns 2009). They will haul out on rocks, sand and shingle beaches, sand bars, mud flats, vegetation, sea ice, glacial ice and a variety of man-made structures. They usually lie close to the water to permit a rapid escape from threats. Sex and age segregation is common in most populations (Kovacs et al. 1990). They are usually extremely wary and shy on land and therefore it is almost impossible ... Read More

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RECENTLY ADDED SPECIES

Lowry, L. 2016. Phoca vitulina. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T17013A45229114. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T17013A45229114.en

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