INTEGRATING SCIENTIFIC AND LOCAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE (LEK) IN STUDIES OF COMMON EIDERS IN SOUTHERN

• Main Author: Heather Chaffey William
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Newfoundland; Common Eider; Somateria mollissima
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.163.1931; http://www.fisheries.ubc.ca/publications/reports/11-1/45_Chaffey_et_al.pdf

Research on the history and status of Eider Ducks in Labrador and Newfoundland is needed. These ducks are an important part of the subsistence and traditional diet of coastal Labradorians. Two subspecies of Common Eider, a northern one (Somateria mollissima borealis) and a southern one (S. m. dresseri), occur in southeastern Labrador. Little is known about the non-breeding behavioural ecology and abundance of these subspecies. By working with hunters [by means of Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) interviews and collecting duck heads], analyzing existing scientific data and collecting new scientific data, we are assessing the seasonal occurrences and distributions of these subspecies in southeastern Labrador. LEK data is also used to reconstruct the history of shifts in and intensity of local hunting and egg-harvesting pressures on the eiders in St. Peter’s Bay, Labrador. We hypothesize that with the decline in the commercial cod and salmon fisheries in St. Peter’s Bay and as a result of technological innovation, harvesting pressure has shifted from the nesting population (Somateria mollissima dresseri) to the wintering population (S. m. borealis) in this area. The history of local hunting pressures and technological and fisheries changes are explored.