The number of codfish in the North Atlantic has declined substantially as the population of harp seals has increased from two million to more than three million  Some blame the seal for the shrinking cod population, but cod plays a negligible role in the seal' s diet
It is ttherefore unlikely that the increase in the seal population has contributed significantly to the decline in the cod population
Cod feed almost exclusively on capelin, a fish that is a staple of the harp seal's diet.