Diet of the harbour seals Phoca vitulina of Dundrum Bay, north-east Ireland

This study has shown that the main constituents of the diet of the harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) of Dundrum Bay, County Down, north-east Ireland, during the past few years (1995-2000) have been small flatfish and gadid fish, with the emphasis shifting from the beginning to the end of the study period from flatfish to gadids, principally whiting and haddock/ pollack / saithe. During both 1995 and 1996 the diet of post-weaning pups consisted almost entirely of small gadid fish. The implications of this relatively poor diet, apparently deficient in oily fish, are considered-together with information on fish stocks in the north-west Irish Sea in recent years-in the context of an apparent decline both in the breeding population of harbour seals along the County Down coast and in the play behaviour of juvenile seals.