Seals in the Greenlandic waters

The ringed seal is the most widespread and probably most numerous seal in Greenland. It has always been important game and is still an important part of hunting life in Greenland.
FLIP NICKLIN/MINDEN/RITZAU SCANPIX, U.Å

Five seal species can be found year round in Greenlandic waters. They include the harp seal, the ringed seal and the spotted seal.

The three populations of harp seal feed their young on breeding grounds in the drift ice at Newfoundland, in the Greenland Sea and in the White Sea. From here, they embark on extensive migrations to the far north on both the east and west coast of Greenland. The largest population of harp seal (approx. 7 million) can be found between Canada and Greenland. There are approx. 400,000 harp seals in the Greenland Sea, and together with the ringed seal, it is the most abundant seal species.

Ringed seals can be found everywhere in Greenlandic waters, both in fjords close to the glaciers during winter and far out in the pack ice. The number of ringed seals is unknown, but the species is widespread throughout the Arctic where it can be both largely stationary but also make long migrations.

The hooded seal can also be found throughout Greenlandic waters, but is to a greater extent associated with deeper waters than other seals where it can exploit its ability to make long, deep dives lasting more than 50 minutes and to depths of more than 1,000 metres. It gives birth to its young on the ice on breeding grounds in the Greenland Sea, at Newfoundland and in Davis Strait, and it prefers to stay on the sea ice during the shedding season in summer. The population that breeds in the Greenland Sea is, for unknown reasons, in decline and currently stands at less than 100,000 hooded seals, while the population that breeds in Canada is growing and is thought to be in the order of 600,000.

Bearded seals rest on the ice floes as they drift across the banks where they forage on the seabed, but they also seek out sandy beaches and rocky islands to rest on. Sandbanks in the fjords in the southern part of Greenland are home to the harbour seal, which is the rarest seal species in Greenland.

Further reading