| Year | Harp seal | Hooded seal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pups | 1+ yo | total | total | |
| 1946–50 | 26,606 | 9,466 | 36,070 | 41,409 |
| 1951–60 | 25,250 | 8,266 | 33,506 | 46,328 |
| 1961–70 | 17,524 | 3,365 | 20,889 | 39,146 |
| 1971–80 | 11,543 | 1,744 | 13,287 | 19,863 |
| 1981–90 | 5,095 | 3,394 | 8,489 | 3,791 |
| 1991–95 | 281 | 6,968 | 7,249 | 3,479 |
| 1996–00 | 3,251 | 1,473 | 4,724 | |
TheWest Ice (Norwegian:Vestisen, orVesterisen, Danish: see below) is a patch of theGreenland Sea covered bypack ice during winter time. It is located north ofIceland, between EastGreenland andJan Mayen island. In Greenland and the Danish language,vestisen refers to the sea ice-covered waters off Greenland's west coast.
The West Ice is a major breeding ground for seals, especiallyharp seals andhooded seals. It was discovered in the early 18th century by British whalers. At the time, whalers were not interested in seal hunting as long as there was ample stock ofbowhead whales in the area. However, after the 1750s, the whale population had been depleted in the area, and systematic seal hunting started, first by British ships and then by German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, and Russian ships.[2] The annual catches were 120,000 animals around 1900, mostly by Norway and Russia, and rose to 350,000 by the 1920s. They then declined, first because of imposed restrictions ontotal allowable catch and then in response to decreasing market demand. Nevertheless, the seal population in the West Ice was rapidly falling, from an estimated 1,000,000 in 1956 to 100,000 in the 1980s.[3] In the 1980s–1990s, takings of harp seals totaled 8,000–10,000, and annual catches of hooded seals totaled a few thousand between 1997 and 2001.[1] Norway accounts for all recent seal hunting in the West Ice, as Russia has not hunted hooded seals since 1995, and catches harp seals at the East Ice in theWhite Sea –Barents Sea.[4]
Seal hunting in the West Ice was a dangerous occupation, as floating ice, storms and winds posed constant threat to the ships; in the 19th century, the hunters often encountered frozen human bodies on the West Ice.[2] Amajor accident occurred around 5 April 1952 when a sudden storm surprised 53 ships hunting in the area. Seven of them sank and five vanished, namelyRingsel,Brattind andVårglimt fromTroms andBuskøy andPels fromSunnmøre, with 79 men on board. The search for them involved ships and planes and continued for many days, but no trace of the missing boats was found.[5][6][7][8]
The word "West" contrasts with the East Ice (Østisen), which refers to the ice-covered waters east and south ofSvalbard, includingBarents Sea andWhite Sea.[9]
The wordvestisen ("the west ice") in a Greenland-specific context in the Danish language refers to the sea ice off Greenland's west coast[10][11] in theDavis Strait andBaffin Bay. This could cause confusion when comparing or translating Danish and Norwegian sources. The band of sea ice in theEast Greenland Current is referred to asStorisen, which translates as The Large or Grand Ice, in reference to the density ofmulti-year sea ice andicebergs.[11][12] TheStorisen is a band of ice rather than a specific area, typically spanning the entire east coast and roundCape Farewell. The word East Ice is occasionally used to more generally refer to all sea ice waters off the east coast,[12] which thus includes the patch that in Norwegian and English is named West Ice.