Soviet tagging of harp and hooded seals in the North Atlantic

Abstract

In 1960-1968, 2 705 harp seal pups and 55 adult female harp seals were tagged in the White Sea. At Newfoundland 79 harp seal pups were tagged in 1963, and in the Jan Mayen area of the Greenland Sea 50 hooded seal pups were tagged in 1966. Monel metal clip tags were used in two seasons, but coloured plastic tail tags have been in use since 1965. Early recaptures have shown that the northward drift of the pack ice brings the pups from the White Sea to the southern part of the Barents Sea. In some years, however, adverse conditions may change this drift pattern. Recaptures after one and two years indicate that immature harp seals spend the winter in coastal waters of the southern Barents Sea and the northern White Sea. Two pups tagged off Newfoundland have been recaptured in West Greenland during their first summer.