Spotted Seal Oil (Alaska Native)

Spotted Seal Oil: Nutrition and Cultural Context

Spotted seal oil is the rendered blubber fat of the spotted seal (Phoca largha), known in Alaska Native communities of coastal Alaska as a subsistence species alongside the bearded seal, ringed seal, and ribbon seal. The spotted seal inhabits the Bering Sea, Chukchi Sea, and Beaufort Sea, and is hunted by Yupik and Inupiaq peoples as part of traditional subsistence practices protected under federal law. Like bearded seal oil, spotted seal oil serves as a food, a preserving medium, and a cultural element of Alaska Native life. The nutritional profile of spotted seal oil closely mirrors that of bearded seal oil — very high in long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA), meaningful vitamin D, and low in saturated fat relative to land animal fats. This nutritional data is derived from USDA analysis of Alaska Native traditional foods, part of efforts to document the nutritional composition of subsistence foods not well represented in mainstream nutritional databases.

Nutritional Value

Spotted seal oil provides 894 kcal and 99.3 g of fat per 100 g, with 14.7 g of saturated fat. The high EPA and DHA omega-3 content is the most significant nutritional feature, providing the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids central to cardiovascular and neurological health in the traditional Alaska Native diet. Vitamin D is also present in meaningful amounts — critical in environments with limited sunlight.