Everything about The Grey Seal totally explained
The
Grey Seal (
Halichoerus grypus, meaning "hooked-nosed sea pig") is found on both shores of the
North Atlantic Ocean. It is a large
seal of the
family Phocidae or "true seals". It is the only species classified in the
genus Halichoerus. Its name is alternatively spelled
Gray Seal and it's also known as
Atlantic Grey Seal.
Appearance
It is a medium sized seal, with the bulls reaching 2.5–3.3 m long and weighing up to 300 kg; the cows are much smaller, typically 1.6–2.0 m long and 100–150 kg weight. It is the typical seal of the northern and western coasts, the
Common Seal being more often seen off southeastern coasts.
Ecology
In
Britain and
Ireland, the Grey Seal breeds in several colonies on and around the coasts; notably large colonies are at the
Farne Islands off the
Northumberland Coast (about 6,000 animals),
North Rona off the north coast of
Scotland,
Lambay Island off the coast of
Dublin and
Ramsey Island off the coast of
Pembrokeshire.
In the Western North Atlantic, the Grey Seal is typically found in large numbers all along the coast of
North America up to about the coastal waters of
New Jersey in the
United States. In
Canada, it's typically seen in areas such as the
Gulf of St. Lawrence,
Newfoundland and the Maritimes, and
Quebec. In the United States onit is found year round off the
New England coasts (in particular
Maine and
Massachusetts) and slightly less frequently in the Middle Atlantic States, though its natural range extends to
Virginia. During the winter months it can be seen hauled out on the rocks, islands, and shoals not far from shore, like great grey bananas in the sun, and occasionally coming ashore to rest. In the spring the recently weaned pups and yearlings occasionally strand on beaches after becoming "lost".
Diet
The Grey Seal feeds on a wide variety of
fish, mostly
benthic or
demersal species, taken at depths down to 70m (230ft) or more.
sand eels (
Ammodytes spp) are important in its diet in many localities.
Cod and other
gadids,
flatfish,
herring and
skates are also important locally. However, it's clear that the Grey Seal will eat whatever is available, including
octopus and
lobsters. The average daily food requirement is estimated to be 5kg (11lb), though the seal doesn't feed every day and it fasts during the breeding season.
Reproduction
Canada there have been calls for a seal cull, however this doesn't appear to be coming to fruition any time soon.
Status
In the
United States Grey Seal numbers are increasing as well; it has been protected under the
Marine Mammal Protection Act for several years and it's still illegal to harm one. Before the act there were only a few isolated colonies in
Maine and nowhere else. Today it's seen increasingly near
New York and
New Jersey waters and it's very likely it'll establish colonies further and further south provided the main Canadian pupping grounds are not molested. It is also not very likely a seal hunt shall be instituted any time soon in the U.S.
In the UK seals are protected under the
Conservation of Seals Act 1970, however it doesn't apply to Northern Ireland. In the UK there have also been calls for a cull from some fishermen, claiming that stocks have declined due to the seals.
A recent paper, however, from the
Sea Mammal Research Unit
at
St Andrews University clarifies that seals take less than 1% of the total stock biomass in the North Sea. The real problem is over-fishing.
Subspecies
There are two recognized subspeices of this seal:
[
]- Halichoerus grypus grypus
- Halichoerus grypus macrorhynchus
Further Information
Get more info on 'Grey Seal'.
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