After weaning, pups spend a lot of time practicing diving and learning how to move on the ice. Behavior The presence of standing ice is very important to P. fasciata during the winter and spring months. They will rest on the ice, often very far from the water. Ribbon seals seem to be unconcerned with the threat of predation, as they will allow their young to wander far from the mother's location for long periods of time. As ice begins to melt in the late summer some populations will move further north with the receding ice-line.
Most populations become pelagic in the summer months.
Little is known about the feeding behaviors of P. fasciata , but they most likely dive for food in ways similar to other seals. One characteristic that is different in P. fasciata when compared to most other seals is the method of locomotion on ice. Habitat P. fasciata are restricted to the cold waters of the northern Pacific. In winter and spring they forage and raise offspring on coastal ice flows, the summer months are spent in the open ocean. From the 1950's until the 1980's Russian fisheries killed large numbers of ribbon seals for their pelts, meat, and oil.