The status of the Bearded Seal, Erignathus barbatus, in Canada

Abstract

Bearded Seals, Erignathus barbatus, reside year-round in Canadian artic and sub-arctic waters. They are patchily distributed at relatively low densities throughout their range, typically inhabiting areas of broken ice and open water with depths of less than 200 m. Estimates of population size are not available, although summing different indices obtained over the past 35 years for several different regions suggest that a minimum of 190 000 Bearded Seals may inhabit Canadian waters. Hunt statistics collected between the late 1950s and mid-1980s for 46 arctic communities, but hunters appear to be taking fewer seals now than they did several decades ago. Information on current sightings and catch-per-unit-effort obtained from hunters across the Arctic suggest that Bearded Seal stocks are stable in Canada. The collection of harvest information should be resumed and continued on a routine basis in all northern communities. Better estimates of age-specific rates of natural mortality and pregnancy are also needed, as well as current population size and growth rates.