Evidence for a Decline in Northern Quebec (Nunavik) Belugas

• Main Authors: M. O. Hammill, V. Lesage, J. -f. Gosselin, H. Bourdages, B. G. E. De March, M. C. S. Kingsley
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2004
• Subjects: Hudson; Hudson Bay; Nunavik; Ungava Bay; Arctic; Beluga; Beluga*; Béluga*; Delphinapterus leucas; James Bay
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.114.159; http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/arctic57-2-183.pdf

belugas were present at the surface in the offshore areas of James Bay and Hudson Bay, respectively. An additional 39 animals were observed in estuaries during the coastal survey, resulting in an index estimate of 1194 (SE = 507) in eastern Hudson Bay. No belugas were observed in Ungava Bay. Observations from systematic surveys conducted in 1993 and 2001 were analyzed using both line-transect and strip-transect methods to allow comparisons with the strip-transect survey conducted in 1985. A population model incorporating harvest information and fitted to the aerial survey data indicates that the number of belugas in eastern Hudson Bay has declined by almost half because of high harvest levels. Subsistence harvest levels must be reduced significantly if this population is to recover. Key words: beluga, aerial survey, Nunavik, harvesting, northern Quebec, abundance RÉSUMÉ. Des relevés aériens systématiques de bélugas (Delphinapterus leucas) par échantillonnage en ligne ont été effectués