Research Document - 2009/010

Seasonal movements and abundance of beluga in northern Quebec (Nunavik) based on weekly sightings information

By M. Hammill and V. Lesage

Abstract

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans maintains a harvest reporting system in the 14 villages located in northern Quebec (Nunavik). Data on numbers of animals reported struck, struck and lost and reported observed are recorded on a weekly basis. The reports on numbers of beluga reported observed by hunters were examined to determine if they could be used to examine seasonal movement patterns and to determine if any unusual trends had been observed in recent years. In Ungava Bay, more animals are seen during spring than during other parts of the year, but overall, the number of animals reported are low. Whales are observed throughout the summer, and continue to be seen into the fall. The largest numbers of whales reported were seen in Hudson Strait. Whales were reported from that area in May, with numbers increasing rapidly in June, then declining with few or no whales observed during late July, August and September. Reports indicate an increase in numbers of whales in the Hudson Strait area beginning in October. In Hudson Bay, few animals were observed during the spring, but reports of sighting increasing numbers of whales occurred throughout the early summer, with peaks in sightings from mid-July to early August. An increase in sightings was reported in mid-October, particularly in the northeastern portion of Hudson Bay. Considerable interannual variability in reported numbers of animals sighted were observed, but there was no obvious trend. In Hudson strait there appears to have been a shift in the fall peak of sightings from October to November.

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