The classification of the Ringed Seal has been moved back and forth between the genera Pusa and Phoca in recent decades, largely as a result of difficulty in reconciling the molecular and morphological relationships of the Grey Seal, Halichoerus grypus, to those two genera (Rice 1998). The very limited genetic differences between these taxa (Fulton and Strobeck 2010) argue for inclusion of all of them in a single genus, Phoca, (Nyakatura and Bininda-Emonds 2012), However, the widespread reluctance to rename the Grey Seal has led to common, though not universal, use of Pusa as a full genus, despite the typical placement of Halichoerus in its midst on recent molecular phylogenetic trees (e.g. Committee on Taxonomy 2014). In contrast to the uncertainty surrounding the genus nomenclature, use of the species name hispida for the Ringed Seals inhabiting the Arctic Ocean and adjoining seas has achieved broad acceptance (Rice 1998).

There are currently five recognised subspecies of Ringed Seal (Rice 1998, SMM 2022), the Arctic Ringed Seal (P. h. hispida), the Okhotsk Ringed Seal (P. h. ochotensis), the Baltic Ringed Seal (P. h. botnica), the Ladoga Seal (P. h. ladogensis), and the Saimaa Seal (P. h. saimensis). Each of the subspecies has been individually assessed by the IUCN Pinniped Specialist Group. This assessment combines those results to determine the status of Ringed Seals at the species level.

Four of the five Ringed Seal subspecies occur in the area covered by the European mammal assessment area – the Arctic Ringed Seal (Phoca hispida hispida), the Baltic Ringed Seal (P. h. botnica), the Ladoga Ringed Seal (P. h. ladogensis) and the Saimaa Ringed Seal (P. h. saimensis). Only the Sea of Okhotsk Ringed Seal (P. h. ochotensis) is not represented in the assessment area.

European regional assessment: Vulnerable (VU)

Ringed Seals occur across the circumpolar Arctic, in the Baltic Sea and in two freshwater lakes in Europe. As they are an ice-affiliated species, they exhibit unique breeding habits, with pups born in spring within small caves built in snow drifts on the surface of ice, accessed by the female from beneath the ice. The ice must be stable for a period of approximately six weeks for the successful survival of the pup to weaning. Climate change is significantly impacting their breeding habitat and the ecosystems crucial to their existence throughout their range. Although the species has been hunted by humans on the sea ice for centuries, other forms of human encroachment were to a large degree naturally restricted by extensive ice cover. However, industrial fishing, mining, oil extraction etc. are increasingly prevalent within Ringed Seal habitats (except where protection has been implemented). The most recent IUCN global Red List classifications for the various Ringed Seal subspecies range from Endangered (Pusa hispida ssp. saimensis; Sipilä 2016b), Vulnerable (Pusa h. ladogensis; Sipilä 2016a) to Least Concern (Pusa h. hispida; Boveng 2016a; Pusa h. botnica; Härkönen 2015; Pusa h. ochotensis; Boveng 2016b). However, it must be noted that these assessments, although relatively recent, are now outdated, particularly given the rate of climate change and its adverse impacts on Ringed Seal habitats. In Svalbard (Norway; a key site for Arctic Ringed Seals in European waters), land-fast ice breeding habitats have declined by 66% in three generations and are expected to be further reduced in the coming decade to near zero, except in the northwest islands in the Archipelago. However, although sea ice declines are also taking place in the southern reaches of the species' European distribution, where Saimaa, Ladoga and Baltic Ringed Seals reside, they are not occurring as rapidly and therefore overall declines are considered unlikely to have exceeded 30% in the past three generation-length (3GL) period across Europe as a whole. Given the recent declines in ice and the expectation that global warming will continue in the coming decades, the Ringed Seal qualifies as Vulnerable under criteria A3(c) in Europe based on a suspected population decline over a 3GL period that is expected to exceed 30%. The species may also qualify under A2 (past decline), however, whilst a population decline at key monitoring sites in Svalbard has been documented, populations in most of the Baltic area are experiencing recovery because harvests are much reduced and the Saimaa Ringed Seal is considered stable as a result of extensive conservation efforts, and thus the overall scale of decline over the past 3GL period is uncertain. Further research may confirm that the species also qualifies for a threatened Category on the basis of past decline in the European region.

Four of the five Ringed Seal subspecies occur in the area covered by the European mammal assessment area – the Arctic Ringed Seal (Phoca h. hispida), the Baltic Ringed Seal (P. h. botnica), the Ladoga Ringed Seal (P. h. ladogensis) and the Saimaa Ringed Seal (P. h. saimensis). Only the Sea of Okhotsk Ringed Seal (P. h. ochotensis) is not represented in the assessment area.

The Arctic Ringed Seal is certainly the most numerous subspecies of Ringed Seal and also the most abundant and wide-ranging true seal in the Northern Hemisphere, though the actual abundance is unknown because many regions have never been surveyed. It is harvested throughout most of its global range, although the sustainability of harvest has only been assessed in Alaska (Nelson et al. 2019). Some regional abundance or density estimates exist, but trend information is lacking for nearly all areas. Norway has listed this subspecies as Vulnerable, based on sea ice losses in recent decades and climate projections that suggest continued deterioration of Ringed Seal habitats. The status of the subspecies is not well known in Russia, but sea ice declines in the White, Pechora and southern Barents seas warrant the classification of the whole subspecies within the European assessment area as Vulnerable under criterion A3(c).

The Baltic Ringed Seal is endemic to the Baltic Sea. It was severely depleted by overharvesting and contaminant issues in the past but is currently recovering. The population number in the Baltic is 15,000-20,000 individuals (reduced from a population that numbered approximately 200,000). There is still a serious concern for Baltic Ringed Seals in the small subpopulations living in the Gulf of Finland, the Archipelago Sea, and the Gulf of Riga. HELCOM has listed the subspecies as Vulnerable. Population projections suggest near-future declines of the subspecies due to sea ice declines. Thus, despite the currently increasing trend, this subspecies warrants classification as Vulnerable under A3(c).

The Ladoga Ringed Seal is endemic to Lake Ladoga in Russia. The population size was estimated at 6,000-9,000 individuals in 2012 (Trukhanova 2013). The population is declining because of high by-catch mortality in fishing gear and climate change-induced habitat deterioration. The Ladoga Ringed Seal is listed in the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation as CR and a Priority I Conservation issue. It qualifies as Vulnerable under criteria A3(c) because of ice declines, A2(b) due to a population decline of 13-49% over the last three generations, and D2 owing to its restricted range, with ice declines as the primary threat.

The Saimaa Ringed Seal is endemic to Lake Saimaa in Finland. The population size is 480 individuals with c. 90 pups born annually. Earlier threats to this subspecies have included overharvesting and environmental toxins, especially mercury. Currently, the population is still impacted by high by-catch mortality and deterioration of breeding habitat associated with climate change and shoreline land usage. The Saimaa Ringed Seal also has an extremely narrow gene pole and there is limited gene flow within the lake. Saimaa Ringed Seals have increased in abundance slightly recently because of major conservation efforts. The subspecies qualifies as EN under Criterion D because it consists of a small, fragmented population.

In European waters, Ringed Seals occur in the North Atlantic, extending into the Arctic Basin, as well as in the Baltic Sea and in two freshwater lakes - Lake Ladoga in Russia and Lake Saimaa in Finland (Reeves 1998, Rice 1998). Vagrants have been recorded south to Portugal and the Azores in Europe (Rice 1998).

In a global context, the range extends to include seasonally and permanently ice-covered waters across the circumpolar Arctic, including the Sea of Okhotsk (in the Russian subarctic) wherever food availability is sufficient (Reeves 1998).

The global population size of Ringed Seals is not known. The Arctic Ringed Seal (P. h. hispida) is certainly the most numerous subspecies, but it is particularly poorly covered by survey efforts and stock/population identities are not delineated. Body size variation (and new genetics studies; Rosing‐Asvid et al. 2023) suggests that there is population structure (Kovacs et al. 2021a), although published genetics studies to date have concluded panmixia (Davis et al. 2008, Martinez-Baker et al. 2013). Many point estimates for Ringed Seal abundance or density are published for specific regions in the scientific literature, but for Arctic Ringed Seals these cover only a small fraction of the species' total range. In the European Arctic, estimates exist only for the Svalbard Archipelago for P. h. hispida. The most recent survey in this region, flown in 2001, estimated that 7,585 (95% CI: 6,332–9,085) Ringed Seals occurred in the survey area, which covered approximately half of the spring (moulting time) coastal ice area (Krafft et al. 2006). Population estimates do not exist for the Russian Territories covered by the European Assessment (White Sea, Pechora Sea or Frans Joseph Land).

The second most numerous subspecies in European waters is the Baltic Ringed Seal (P. h. botnica), which likely currently numbers some 20,000 individuals that occur within three subpopulations (see Sundqvist et al. 2012, Halkka and Tovanen 2017). Based on a survey flown in 2012, the Ladoga Ringed Seal numbers in the range 6,000-9,000 animals (Trukhanova 2013). The Ladoga Ringed Seal population has been reduced by 13-49% in the past three generations (Trukhanova et al. 2012, Trukhavonva 2013, Trukhanova et al. 2021). Saimaa Ringed Seals number 480 animals, in a highly subdivided population with 14 different breeding areas (Metsähallitus 2023).

Trend information is extremely scarce for Ringed Seals. For the Arctic subspecies, very little population trend data exists (see Laidre et al. 2015, Kovacs et al. 2021). A regional assessment in southwest Hudson Bay based on time-trend data for part of the population’s range (Chambellant et al. 2012, Young et al. 2015), and demographic population modelling done for the Amundsen Gulf and Prince William Sound (Reimer et al. 2019), suggest that Ringed Seals in these two areas are experiencing declines. The Baltic Ringed Seal is currently increasing overall, though there are regional declines in some areas. Increasing and decreasing trends are reported for Ladoga Ringed Seals, though within the three-generation timeframe, it is clear that the population is decreasing (Trukhanova et al. 2012, 2021; Trukhanova 2013); the last survey was conducted in Lake Ladoga in 2012. Saimaa Ringed Seals have increased slightly in numbers following the implementation of by-catch mitigation through fishing restrictions and the active restoration of breeding habitats (Kunnasranta et al. 2021). All subspecies are expected to decline in the coming decades due to the negative impacts of climate change on breeding habitats. Concomitant climate-induced changes in the ecosystems will also contribute to enhancing risk (Laidre et al. 2015, Kovacs et al. 2021).

Future declines at the species level over the past and future three generation lengths (55.8 years) are hard to estimate because abundance trend data are fragmentary for Ringed Seals and habitat forecasts are not available for all of the European subspecies, beyond the general consensus that declines that are ongoing will continue. A population decline that exceeds 30% is suspected for the future three generation-length period based on recent observed and future predicted sea ice declines. Our data for key monitoring sites in the European Arctic suggests a 45% decline in abundance over the last two decades, along with a 66% decline in breeding habitat for the Arctic subspecies, but the other three groups in the Baltic Sea and in Lake Saimaa and Lake Ladoga are less heavily impacted to date.

Ringed Seals are relatively solitary and usually found singly. However, in the spring they can occur in small groups around haul-out holes and cracks in land-fast ice. In winter and spring, they usually occupy ice-covered areas, maintaining breathing holes in the ice with their claws, and excavating snow lair above some of their breathing holes, which normally occur along cracks in the sea ice and cavities within pressure ridges formed when ice sheets buckle under pressure (Lydersen and Gjertz 1986). In summer, Arctic Ringed Seals can occupy drift ice areas (Freitas et al. 2008). It is mainly, though not exclusively young animals that do summer foraging migrations to the drift ice (Hamilton et al. 2015). In areas with tidal glaciers, such as in Svalbard, adult Ringed Seals tend to remain coastal within small home ranges year-round (Hamilton et al. 2016). Terrestrial haul-out is rare for the Arctic Ringed Seal, but it has been documented recently in particularly low ice years in Svalbard (Lydersen et al. 2017). Baltic Ringed Seals and the lake subspecies use ice and snow caves for breeding, but readily haul-out on sand banks and skerries in the months of the year without ice. In lake habitats subnivean lairs of Ringed Seals are located in snow drifts along islands and islets, peak pupping period occurring from mid-February to mid-March (Kunnasranta et al. 2001, Auttila et al. 2014) and terrestrial platforms are typically used for moulting in May (Niemi et al. 2022).

Sexual maturity is variable in both time and space for Ringed Seals but is usually attained between four to eight years of age (Kovacs et al. 2021a). Maximum reported longevity is 45 years (Lydersen and Gjertz 1986). Sexual dimorphism patterns vary regionally with monomorphy, females larger, or males larger, depending on the region (Kovacs et al. 2021a).

Similar to other phocids, Ringed Seal pregnancy rates tend to be high (70-90%), except under exceptional contaminant situations, such as those that arose in the Baltic Sea in the 1970s and 1980s due to contamination that resulted in low fertility and reproductive organ deformities (Helle et al. 1976, Andersen et al. 2021). Low ovulation and pregnancy rates are observed after exceptional ice years (both extremes of more or less sea ice; S. Ferguson pers. comm.). A single pup is born in the spring (with the peak pupping period occurring in late March/early April in the Arctic). Most births occur in lairs excavated in snow drifts that accumulate around ice ridges or in cavities occurring between blocks of ice in pressure ridges. Lairs provide thermal protection as well as some protection from a variety of non-human predators, including Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus) and Arctic Foxes (Vulpes lagopus) for Arctic Ringed Seals and even avian predators such as Glaucous Gulls (Larus hyperboreus) can take small pups if they are on the ice surface (Lydersen and Gjertz 1986). Similarly, Red Foxes (Vulpes vulpes), domestic dogs and eagles take the lake-dwelling Ringed Seal pups if they are exposed on the ice (Sipilä and Hyvarinen 1998).

Ringed Seals consume a wide variety of fish and invertebrate prey and show variation in diet between seasons and in different geographic areas. In the European Arctic, the most important prey is the Polar Cod (Boreogadus saida), but they also feed on various stickleback species and sculpins and sometimes eat significant quantities of Euphausid crustaceans (Bengtsson et al. 2020). Saimaa and Ladoga ringed seals are confined to freshwater lakes where they prey on both fish and some invertebrates, especially European Smelt (Osmerus eperlanus), Vendace (Coregonus albula), Burbot (Lota lota), European Perch (Perca fluviatalis), Common Roach (Rutilus rutilus), and Common Whitefish (Coreogonus lavaretus) (Sipilä and Hyvärinen 1998, Auttila et al. 2015).

Global warming is the greatest threat to Ringed Seals because of its impacts on ice and snow as well as indirect negative impacts on prey availability, increased disturbance by human traffic in previously naturally protected ice-covered areas and increased disease risks (Tynan and DeMaster 1997, Learmonth et al. 2006, Kovacs et al. 2011a,b, 2012, 2021b; VanWormer et al. 2019). disease risks may increase as a result of a warming climate. Reductions in sea ice cover are leading to greater Arctic mining and oil and gas extraction and shipping (Pagnan 2000, Reeves et al. 2014). Major behavioural changes have already been documented for the Arctic Ringed Seal linked to declines in sea ice, including travelling further to find food on offshore migrations, spending less time resting and more time diving, less sympagic (ice-associated) diving, less area-restricted search and shrinking coastal home ranges (Hamilton et al. 2015, 2016, 2019).

Ringed Seals are important to northern coastal communities for food, and pelts are a source of cash income. Many tens of thousands of Ringed Seals are taken annually in subsistence or commercial harvests across the Arctic (see Reeves 1998, Teilmann and Kapel 1998, NAMMCO - https://nammco.no/resources), though the actual magnitude of the annual global harvest is unknown because of the lack of reporting in most areas. Most Greenlandic pelts make their way into the European/global marketplace via Denmark. Ringed Seals are sport-hunted in Svalbard (Norway) and small quotas are assigned to counties along the mainland shore. They are also harvested in Russia, though they are protected (as are all marine mammals) in Frans Josef Land and some reserve areas in the White Sea (Belikov and Boltunov 1998). The lack of harvest reporting from most Arctic areas makes it difficult to assess whether hunting is a current threat. Commercial harvests in the past in the Baltic Sea resulted in dramatic population reductions (c. 90%; Harding and Härkönen 1999). The Baltic subspecies became protected from harvesting in the 1990s, but perceived fisheries conflicts have recently resulted in quotas being set once again for Ringed Seal harvests in Finland and Sweden (http://stateofthebalticsea.helcom.fi/pressures-and-their-status/species-removal-by-fishing-and-hunting/). Extreme harvests in the past were also threat to the lake Ringed Seals (Sipilä and Hyvarinen 1998), but Ringed Seal hunting is no longer permitted in Lake Ladoga or Saimaa; poaching in Lake Ladoga remains a concern, though it is difficult to quantify.

Culls have taken place in the recent past in the Baltic and come and go in some other countries. Some regions in the Baltic have recently reinstated culling programmes despite the species only just starting to recover, and there is pressure to resume culling of the Ladoga Ringed Seal (Trukhanova et al. 2021).

Saimaa Ringed Seals were exposed to a complex array of threats in the past including manipulation of water levels in the lake, by-catch in fishing gear, habitat destruction, human-induced disturbance etc (Kunnasranta et al. 2021). Most of these threats have been reduced by management plans and actions, but current threats are related to by-catch mortality, land usage and climate change. Ladoga Ringed Seals have similar (though perhaps less intense) threats from most of these factors, especially by-catch in fisheries and other fisheries conflicts (Verevkin 2002, Agafonava et al. 2007; Trukhanova et al. 2012, 2021). These are ongoing in the case of Ladoga Ringed Seals.

Ringed Seals are long-lived, high trophic level feeders that accumulate organochlorines, heavy metals and other contaminants from human industry and agriculture. Chlorinated hydrocarbons have been implicated in uterine pathology in Baltic Ringed Seals (Bergman and Olsson 1986), and high concentrations of mercury in Saimaa Ringed Seals are thought to have reduced pup production in the 1960s and 1970s (Lyytikäinen et al. 2015). Ladoga Ringed Seals have variable concentrations of toxins, but levels are not thought to present a serious threat at present (Tukhanova et al. 2022). Many of the compounds responsible for the extreme contaminant loads in Ringed Seals in the 1970s and 1980s have been banned by the Stockholm Convention – and have declined in European seal populations (e.g. Wolkers et al. 2008, Härkönen 2016).

The Ringed Seal is harvested in some parts of the European Assessment Area (and throughout the circumpolar Arctic), with some small amount of commercial trade for hides (East Greenland). There is little trade in the Norwegian Arctic now for handicrafts and clothing, but there is little pelt processing in recent years. Most Ringed Seal fur coming into the European marketplace is via Denmark - from Greenland. There is also sport hunting in Svalbard and mainland Norway.

In various parts of their European range Ringed Seals are protected by different forms of legislation, protected areas, quotas, regulation of fisheries, regulated space use, vehicle restrictions, closed hunting seasons etc. in different parts of their European range. The Saimaa Ringed Seal has been protected since 1955. Conservation/management plans in Europe are most advanced for the Saima Ringed Seal (Metsähallitus 2020, 2023). Hunting of seals in Lake Ladoga was prohibited in 1980 (Sipilä and Hyvärinen 1998). Baltic Ringed Seals were protected from all killing by the Soviet Union in 1980, by Sweden in 1986, and by Finland in 1988 (Härkönen et al. 1998), though quotas are now again issued both in Finland and Sweden (http://stateofthebalticsea.helcom.fi/pressures-and-their-status/species-removal-by-fishing-and-hunting/). State Nature Reserves at Franz Josef Land and in the White protect large areas of Ringed Seal habitat in the western Russian Arctic (Belikov and Boltunov 1998). Arctic Ringed Seals are protected in Svalbard during the breeding season and the period in summer when they would sink if shot, but otherwise can be hunted; mainland counties in the North of Norway have quota-based harvests (Eldegard et al. 2021).

Norway has listed this subspecies as Vulnerable (https://artsdatabanken.no/lister/rodlisteforarter/2021/11063) based on sea ice losses in recent decades and climate projections that suggest continued deterioration of ringed seal habitats. HELCOM has listed the Baltic subspecies as Vulnerable (https://www.helcom.fi/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/HELCOM-Red-List-Phoca-hispida-botnica.pdf) and reassessment by HELCOM is underway.There are currently no international agreements outside of Europe regarding Ringed Seal conservation. CAFF (Arctic Council’s Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna) has developed a detailed plan for Ringed Seal monitoring across the Arctic (Kovacs 2014), but none of the Arctic countries have yet implemented the plan.

Population monitoring is recommended for this species in Europe.