Tagging White Whales in the Canadian Arctic

White whales, Delphinapterus leucas Pallas, were tagged in the estuary of Seal River, Man., in western Hudson Bay in the summers of 1967 and 1968. Seven hundred harpoon tags were applied to the dorsal part of the body while chasing the animals, and 118 Petersen disc tags through the dorsal ridge aft...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada
Main Authors: Sergeant, D. E., Brodie, P. F.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1969
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f69-202
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f69-202
Description
Summary:White whales, Delphinapterus leucas Pallas, were tagged in the estuary of Seal River, Man., in western Hudson Bay in the summers of 1967 and 1968. Seven hundred harpoon tags were applied to the dorsal part of the body while chasing the animals, and 118 Petersen disc tags through the dorsal ridge after stranding the animals in shallow water on a falling tide. Three recovered harpoon tags include one observed on a living whale at the same site after a year, and two taken from netted whales at fisheries northward along the western coast of Hudson Bay, 300–800 km from the site of tagging and 5–7 weeks after tagging.