Research Document - 2002/091
Review of Atlantic Walrus (Odobenus
rosmarus rosmarus) in Canada
By Stewart, R.E.A.
Abstract
Four extant stocks of walrus have been identified in Canada, on the basis of genetic, isotope, body size differences, breaks in distribution or management independence, but the evidence is far from conclusive. These are, tentatively, the east and south Hudson Bay stock, the Hudson Bay-Davis strait stock, the Foxe Basin stock, and the Baffin Bay stock. However, there is also emerging information to suggest that these main groups should be further subdivided. The ranges of the Hudson Bay-Davis Strait and the Baffin Bay stocks undoubtedly extend, or extended, to Greenland and these stocks may be shared by hunters there but there are no population estimates for these two stocks, and no strong evidence of their current connectedness. Recent information suggests the Foxe Basin stock should be considered at least 2 stocks and that it may exchange animals with both northwest and northeast Hudson Bay. Serious information gaps also exist in terms of catch, catch distribution and sex and age-at-catch, natural mortality, and population responses to human disturbance.
Accessibility Notice
This document is available in PDF format. If the document is not accessible to you, please contact the Secretariat to obtain another appropriate format, such as regular print, large print, Braille or audio version.
- Date modified: