DIET OF RINGED SEALS (PHOCA-HISPIDA) IN A FJORD OF WEST SVALBARD

Stomachs of 134 ringed seals from West Svalbard (Kongsfjorden) and Eas t Svalbard (drift ice) were examined. Twenty-four prey taxa were found . The most important items were arctic cod (Boreogadus saida), shrimp (Pandalus borealis), krill (Thysanoessa inermis) and the amphipod Them isto libellula. In spring young redfish (Sebastes sp.) was an importan t food item; in summer seals fed on dense aggregations of krill in fro nt of glaciers. Mysids, amphipod crustaceans and small size classes of coastal fish species were abundant in Kongsfjorden, but seals take th em as secondary food items only.