NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region

Tags: marine mammals, aerial surveys

Objective(s): The main objectives for the marine mammal aerial surveys are to assess the distribution and abundance of bowhead whales, ringed seals, and bearded seals in May in the ISR and to assess the important of sea ice habitat on distribution.

Project Description: This licence has been issued for the scientific research application No. 5919. The main objectives for the marine mammal aerial surveys are to assess the distribution and abundance of bowhead whales, ringed seals, and bearded seals in May in the ISR and to assess the important of sea ice habitat on distribution. The marine mammal project will use aerial surveys in May in both 2024 and 2025. Surveys will use a belt transect methodology in a twin otter aircraft equipped with bottom-mounted cameras and four observers looking out of bubble windows. The plane will fly at an altitude of 305 m and fly at a speed of 204 km/hr. The surveys will focus on three areas for seals that have been identified as important by the communities of Ulukhaktok and Paulatuk: Darnley Bay, Minto Inlet, and Prince Albert Sound. The survey for bowhead whales will focus on the flaw lead in the Amundsen Gulf between roughly Cape Parry and Nelson Head and in the offshore areas near Cape Bathurst. Analyses of the data will involve counting all marine mammals in each photo and comparing with the data collected by observers. Correction factors may also be applied to the data to account for marine mammals that are not observed due to diving behaviour. In person and Zoom discussions on this research have occurred at the following venues: 1) Oct 2023 OHTC AGM meeting; 2) Feb 2024 Paulatuk community meeting and PHTC special meeting; and March 2024 IGC meeting. Following data collection and after the data has been summarized we intend to share the results with interested communities during open HTC meetings whenever possible. The results are also to be shared with the wider ISR community during IGC and FJMC meetings each year. In addition, regular communications are expected via internet (e.g. email) and telephone and during other annual meetings attended by ISR community members (e.g. the BSP and ArcticNet meetings). The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from: May 09 - June 14, 2024