The commercial harvest of ice-associated seals in the Sea of Okhotsk, 1972-1994.

ABSTRACT: Sealing log books from 75 out of 79 commercial harvest cruises carried out between 1972 and 1994 in the Sea of Okhotsk, Russia, were analyzed to describe spatial and temporal allocation of ice-associated seal harvest effort, species composition of catches, total harvest rates, and related parameters for species including ringed (Pusa hispida), ribbon (Histriophoca fasciata), bearded (Erignathus barbatus) and spotted (Phoca largha) seal. Variations in catch per unit effort were explored in relation to year, sea ice conditions, day of the year, and geographic location. In most years, the harvest was predominantly represented by ringed seals (mean = 0.43, range 0.25-0.67), followed by ribbon (mean = 0.31, range 0.15-0.43), spotted (mean = 0.19, range 0.11-0.35) and bearded seals (mean = 0.07,

SUBMITTER: Trukhanova IS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5552157 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature