10,000 to >1,000,000 individuals

Comments: Estimates range from 300,000 to 750,000 worldwide. In the late 1980s, 60,000 pups were born at the West Ice, suggesting a total population there of perhaps 250,000 seals one year old or older. Mid-1980s data indicate a population of about 300,000 (60,000 pups born annually) at the Front off Newfoundland. In 1990, more than 2000 pups were born in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Davis Strait population was estimated at 18,600 pups and 93,000 seals one year old or older in the mid-1980s (Reeves et al. 1992).