Guidance on Allergen Management and Consumer Information

Studies of predation by seals on fish in Atlantic Canada have focussed on harp seals and grey seals. Predation by harbour and hooded seals has also been estimated. Harp seals accounted for the largest amount of consumption, followed by hooded and grey seals. However, recent data on diets of hooded seals suggest that they may also be important predators. Comprehensive estimates indicated that in 1996, harp seals consumed some 3 million tonnes of food in the Canadian Atlantic, whereas grey seals consumed some 314,000 tonnes. A high portion of the diet of both species was fish, with some invertebrate prey as...