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Species

Grey seal

Halichoerus grypus

Grey seal is a top consumer of North Atlantic shelf and coastal waters that feeds mainly on fish and cephalopods.

Ecoregions
Norwegian Current
Ecoregion types
Polar & Subpolar
Trophic levels
Tertiary Consumer

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About this species

Species identity

Halichoerus grypus is a large pinniped found around the North Atlantic. It links coastal breeding sites to wider offshore food webs by feeding on fish concentrated by currents and shelf processes.

Where it lives

Grey seals are distributed across temperate and subpolar North Atlantic coasts, including Norway, the British Isles, Iceland, and the Barents gateway. They forage widely over shelf and current systems where fish are concentrated.

Role in the ecosystem

Grey seal helps connect subpolar fish production to larger marine mammals and coastal ecosystems.

Scientific reference

Citation

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2024.103361

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