10 MARINE MAMMALS AND SEA TURTLES - Hebron Project

Hebron Project Comprehensive Study Report
Marine Mammals and Sea Turtles
Newfoundland is completed by 28 March, but has ranged from March 18 to
April 4; pups may spend several more weeks on the ice before entering the
water and dispersing (Hammill and Stenson 2006b). Following whelping,
hooded seals aggregate in the pack ice off eastern Greenland to moult during
June-July before dispersing to the Greenland Sea or Davis Strait during the
summer and fall (see Hammill and Stenson 2006a). Little is known about
their winter distribution, but they have been observed feeding around the
northern edge of the Grand Banks during winter (Stenson and Kavanagh
1994). Recent work suggests that hooded seals move along the continental
shelf to Davis Strait and Baffin Bay after moulting in July, followed by
southerly migrations into the Labrador Sea before reaching breeding grounds
in the spring (Andersen et al. 2009).
No hooded seals were sighted during the summer and fall monitoring
programs in the Jeanne d‘Arc Basin (Table 10-4), or during summer
monitoring in the Orphan Basin (Moulton et al. 2005, 2006b; Abgrall et al.
2008b). Recent studies of satellite-tagged hooded seals indicate that at least
some individuals enter the Offshore Study Area in February, presumably to
reach the Flemish Cap for winter foraging (Andersen et al. 2009); seals have
also been shown to transit through and near the Offshore Study Area during
transit to moulting areas in May and June (Bajzak et al. 2009). The available
information on their offshore distribution suggests that hooded seals may
occasionally occur in the Offshore Study Area during winter and spring,
particularly if seasonal pack ice extends into the Offshore Study Area.
Hooded seals that breed in the Gulf of St. Lawrence predominantly migrate
along the eastern and southern Newfoundland coast and enter (in December
prior to breeding) or exit (by May following breeding) the Gulf via Cabot Strait;
thus, animals presumably at least pass the entrance to Trinity Bay (Hammill
1993; Andersen et al. 2009; Bajzak et al. 2009). Juvenile hooded seals may
also occasionally wander deeper into Trinity Bay and other coastal areas of
eastern Newfoundland, especially during winter and spring. Based on
available information, it is expected that hooded seals would be uncommon
visitors to the Nearshore Study Area.
Grey Seal
Grey seals are found throughout cold temperate to sub-Arctic waters of the
North Atlantic, including areas of Nova Scotia, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and
Newfoundland (Jefferson et al. 2008). The largest breeding colony in the
North Atlantic is on Sable Island, south of Nova Scotia, consisting of
approximately 250,000 individuals (Thomas et al. 2007). There are an
estimated 304,000 animals that breed on Sable Island, Nova Scotia‘s eastern
shore, and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, accounting for essentially all of the
pup production in the Northwest Atlantic (Thomas et al. 2007). An unknown
number are found off eastern Newfoundland.
Grey seals tend to be less tied to coastal and island rookeries than are
harbour seals, but foraging still appears to be restricted to continental shelf
regions (Austin et al. 2006). Grey seal prey species include herring, Atlantic
cod, and sandlance (Lesage and Hammill 2001). Pupping occurs between
10-28 June 2010