Research Document 2023/066

Total Abundance and Harvest Impacts on Eastern Hudson Bay and James Bay Beluga 2015–2022

By Hammill, M.O., St-Pierre, A.P., Mosnier, A., Parent, G.J., and Gosselin, J.-F.

Abstract

Belugas from the James Bay population (JAM) and Belcher Islands-Eastern Hudson Bay (BEL-EHB) stock are harvested by hunters from all Nunavik communities and the Nunavut community of Sanikiluaq. In 2020–2021, a total of 366 belugas were reported harvested by Nunavik hunters, including 41 animals harvested in the Long Island area. From those, an estimated 139 BEL-EHB animals were harvested. Another 19 BEL-EHB animals were harvested in Sanikiluaq. A population model fitted to a time series of 8 aerial survey estimates using Bayesian methods and taking into account removals by harvesters provided a 2021 abundance estimate of 16,700 belugas in James Bay and a range of 2,900–3,200 belugas in eastern Hudson Bay, depending on model assumptions. The James Bay population has levelled off since the last assessment, whereas the BEL-EHB stock is currently declining at a rate of 2.5% per year. A harvest of 190 belugas per year in James Bay, would result in a 50% probability of decline in the JAM population after 5 years. The Potential Biological Removal (PBR) for this population is 296 belugas. If a Precautionary Approach framework was used to manage beluga in James Bay, a range of 170-173 belugas could be harvested annually. For the BEL-EHB stock, two model runs were completed and harvests were evaluated against two benchmarks or thresholds over time frames of 5 and 10 years. Depending on model assumptions, benchmarks and timeframes, harvests should not exceed levels of 0–70 BEL-EHB belugas annually for the stock to remain above the benchmark abundance estimate. The PBR for this stock is 5 animals. Over a 50-year time period, if the annual harvest of beluga from the BEL-EHB stocks stays within 20-25 animals annually, then there is a high probability of staying above the precautionary reference level.

Key words: Beluga, Delphinapterus leucas, abundance, genetics, Nunavik, harvest

Research Document 2023/066 (PDF, 3,531 KB)

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.