HARBOR SEAL (Phoca vitulina): Western North Atlantic Stock

STOCK DEFINITION AND GEOGRAPHIC RANGE The harbor seal is found in the western North Atlantic, from the eastern Canadian Arctic and Greenland south to southern New England and New York, and occasionally to the Carolinas (Boulva and McLaren 1979; Katona et al. 1993; Gilbert and Guldager 1998). Although the stock structure of the western North Atlantic population is unknown, it is thought that harbor seals found along the eastern U.S. and Canadian coasts represent one population (Temte et al.. 1991). Breeding and pupping normally occurs in waters north of the New Hampshire/Maine border, although breeding occurred as far south as Cape Cod in the early part of the twentieth century (Temte et al.. 1991; Katona et al.. 1993). Harbor seals are year-round inhabitants of the coastal waters of eastern Canada and Maine (Katona et al. 1993), and occur seasonally along the southern New England and New York coasts from September through late May (Schneider and Payne 1983). Scattered sightings and strandings have been recorded as far south as Florida (NMFS unpublished data). A general southward movement from the Bay of Fundy to southern New England waters occurs in autumn and early winter (Rosenfeld et al.. 1988; Whitman and Payne 1990). A northward movement from southern New England to Maine and eastern Canada occurs prior to the pupping season, which takes place from mid-May through June along the Maine Coast (Richardson 1976; Wilson 1978; Whitman and Payne 1990; Kenney 1994). No pupping areas have been identified in southern New England (Payne and Schneider 1984). The overall geographic range throughout coastal New England has not changed significantly during the last century (Payne and Selzer 1989). The majority of animals moving into southern New England waters are juveniles. Whitman and Payne (1990) suggest that the age-related dispersal may reflect the higher energy requirements of younger animals.