Ribbon Seal
Histriophoca fasciata

Where do ribbon seals live?

Ribbon seals live in the North Pacific Ocean and southern parts of the Arctic Ocean. In Alaska waters, they are found north of Bristol Bay, in the Bering Sea, and in the Chukchi and western Beaufort Seas. These seals use sea ice to rest, give birth, and molt. Their habitat choice has made them sensitive to changes in the environment that affect the timing and extent of sea ice formation and breakup. Ribbon seals are usually found in the loose ice of the frontal zone (sea ice north of the zone where open water meets pack ice and south of consolidated pack ice), and rarely along the coast or on fast ice (ice attached to the coast, not floating over open water). From March to May they occupy the Bering Sea ice front and are most abundant in the central and western Bering Sea. Little is known about ribbon seal distribution after they give birth to pups on the ice in April-May.

What do ribbon seals eat?

Ribbon seals are deep-water feeders and feed on walleye pollock, Pacific cod, cephalopods and crustaceans.

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