Research Document - 2000/076

Estimating Struck and loss rates for harp seals in the northwest Atlantic.

By B. Sjare, G.B. Stenson, and M.O. Hammil

Abstract

One of the major sources of unreported mortality during the commercial harp seal hunt in the Northwest Atlantic is the number of animals killed or fatally wounded and not recovered by hunters (i.e. seals that are struck and lost). With the significant expansion of the hunt both in Canada and in Greenland during the mid 1990s, there is a concern that unreported mortalities of harp seals struck and lost may have reached a level that is not sustainable from a long-term management perspective. To address this problem a study on the number of seals struck and lost in Newfoundland waters was initiated. The results summarized in this research document are based on observations collected by the Marine Mammal Section, DFO and the Fisheries Observer Program in 1998 and 1999. In general, overall loss rates for beaters taken on the ice varied from 0-2.0% and from 0-10.0% when taken in the water. Older seals aged 1+ had overall loss rates of 0-21.6% when taken on ice and rates of 5.0-50.0% when taken in the water. Although sample sizes were limited (especially for seals taken in the water) and there was only limited coverage of the hunt, these data provide current estimates of struck and loss rates and have been incorporated into recent harp seal population modeling initiatives.

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