ARCTIC Summer Distribution of Bowhead Whales, Balaena rnysticetus, Relative to Oil Industry Activities in the Canadian Beaufort Sea, 1980-84

• Main Authors: W. John Richardson, Rolph A. Davis, C. Robert Evans, Donald K. Ljungblad, Pamela Nortons
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1986
• Subjects: Key words; bowhead whale; Balaena mysticerus; Beaufort Sea; oil exploration; seismic exploration; aerial surveys; Arctic
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.534.2185; http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/arctic40-2-93.pdf

ABSTRACT. Aerial surveys in 1980-84 showed that summer distribution of bowheads in the Beaufort Sea varied markedly between years. Distribution varied both outside and within the “main industrial area ” (MIA), the area of island construction, drilling and intensive ship and helicopter traffic. Numbers of bowheads in the MIA were high in 1980, lower in 1981, near zero in 1982 and very low in 1983-84. The few whales in the MIA in 1983-84 were mainly near its edges, contrary to 1980-8 1. These data, plus limited evidence from 1976-79, indicate that bowheads were numerous in the centre of