Norwegian Tagging of Harp Seals and Hooded Seals in north atlantic waters

摘要

The tail tag and the tagging method are described. A total of 711 harpand hooded seals have been tagged in the years 1951-1963.Excepting experimental tagging of one adult and 18 immature harpseals in the Barents Sea in 1963, all seals have been tagged as pups, atNewfoundland in 1951-1952, in the Jan Mayen area in 1951-1963,and in the Barents Sea in 1963.Of the tagged seals, 54 have been recaptured within the first sixweeks after tagging. Early recoveries in 1953 and 1955 illustrate thedispersion of weaned harp seal pups in the Jan Mayen area.Recoveries after one or more years amount to 14, and most of theseare from the tagging areas. One recovery indicates a connection betweenhooded seals breeding at Newfoundland and the moulting hoods in theDenmark Strait. One other recovery suggests some contact between theJan Mayen and the White Sea harp seal populations.Recaptures of one harp and one hooded seal have provisionallyverified the ageing method bascd on dentine growth zones for thesespecies.Finally, some factors that may influence the number of recoveries arediscussed, and means of improving the tagging method are suggested.