The Davis Strait - DCE - Nationalt Center for Miljø og Energi

winter in reoccurring leads and polynyas or they follow the pulse of the expanding
and shrinking sea ice.
Bearded seals can be found in all the parts of the assessment area and they
are seen in the assessment area throughout the year, but the highest concentrations
are found on Store Hellefiskebanke during mid-winter and spring
when the edge of the Davis Strait pack ice is found in this area (GINR, unpubl.
data).
Bearded seals are known mainly to feed on fish and benthic invertebrates
found at depths down to 100 m (Burns 1981). The ongoing study in South
Greenland shows that some bearded seals also spend considerable time in
much deeper water (>300m) and shrimps are found to be the most important
prey in this area.
Birth takes place in April–May on drifting ice or near ice edges with access
to open water and the lactation period is around 24 days (Gjertz et al. 2000).
Some bearded seals are likely to be born in the assessment area each year.
Conservation status: The bearded seal is listed as Data Deficient on the Greenland
Red List due to lack of knowledge about population boundaries and
numbers, but at the same time it is listed as Least Concern, because its uniform
and widespread distribution is believed to be a good protection against
over-exploitation.
Sensitivity: Bearded seals often vocalise, especially during the breeding season
in spring (Burns 1981) and may therefore be sensitive to acoustic disturbances
(noise). The benthic feeding habits will also make them vulnerable
to oil-polluted benthos and bearded seals can be affected by oil spills in the
same way as all other seals (i.e.tissue damage and poisoning).
Critical and important habitat: Little is known about the bearded seal habitat
use in Greenland. Their wide and uniform distribution indicates that they
might adapt to several habitats. During winter the ice cover limits the availability
of suitable habitats and the Store Hellefiskebanke is therefore likely to
have a significant importance to bearded seals that during summer spread
out over a much larger area.
Ringed seal, Pusa hispida
Distribution and numbers: The ringed seal habitat is all parts of the Arctic that
have annual sea ice. They give birth in March-April in lairs dug out in a
snowdrift that is covering a breathing hole. Some pups are born on fjord ice
in the assessment area and others on the pack ice in the Davis Strait. The extent
of whelping as well as the total number of ringed seals in the assessment
area is, however, likely to fluctuate significantly depending on the ice
and snow conditions. The pups lactate in up to 7 weeks on the fast ice in
Canada (Hammill et al. 1991), but it is likely that pups born on the pack ice
have a shorter lactation period, probably depending on ice breakup. The
moulting period is mainly in June when the seals will spend most of the day
basking on the ice. They need to haul out and therefore have to be near ice in
this period. Their numbers therefore decline in some of the coastal areas, as
some seals move into ice filled glacier fjords and others follow the retreating
pack-ice north and westward. When the sea ice expands again during early
winter they spread out again. They make breathing holes in the new ice and
maintain them throughout the winter. This is mainly done by adult seals
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