Baby Beluga in the Deep Blue Sea

Retrieved from: http://www.nfl.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/e0008989

The Beluga whale has seven different distinct populations within Canada: Eastern High Arctic-Baffin Bay, Southeast Baffin Island-Cumberland Sound, Ungava Bay, St. Lawrence River, Western Hudson Bay, Eastern Hudson Bay and Beaufort Sea-Arctic Ocean. You might be wondering which if any of these populations has to do with Newfoundland. The fact is all seven of these populations have individuals that regularly visit the waters of Newfoundland and Labrador.  Another frightening fact that involves all of these populations is that all seven are currently listed as threatened, endangered or of special concern by the Committee on the status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). As you can see there exists a real danger of the “baby belugas in the deep blue sea” becoming a thing of the past.

Retrieved from: http://www.nfl.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/e0008989

            A little about the beluga:  It’s a toothed whale and belongs to the family Monodontidae. Adults are usually between 2.6 to 4.5 meters long and can weigh up to 1900 kg. Adult females are about 80% longer than males and new born calf’s are half the length of their mothers (imagine giving birth to that). New borns are dark grey but of course adults are white in colour. Belugas lack a dorsal fin, which is possibly an adaptation to the ice-filled waters of the Arctic (makes sense).  Just as a cool side note, their name is derived from a Russian word “Blukha” which means white. 

             Beluga whales are vulnerable to predation by polar bears when they are near ice, and are also predated upon by killer whales. They also return to the same estuaries year after year and this makes them vulnerable to human hunting, disturbance and pollution from agricultural and industrial runoff. Other threats or potential threats that may affect the Belugas include the noise and disturbance resulting from increased vessel traffic and competition with commercial fisheries.

            

              To be honest there’s a lot about these populations we don’t know when it comes to threats and limiting factors. For example Belugas in the arctic range are often killed by Polar bears, yet we cannot go out and document all polar bear attacks (although that would be a wicked job).  The plain nuts and bolts of it are that the arctic environment makes it very difficult for us to document Beluga numbers.

            As of right now the only hunting of Belugas occurs by Indian and Inuit people of Canada who have a licence. Although this is a part of their heritages perhaps it’s something that should stop so as to conserve these great mammals. Currently the most protected of beluga populations is the St. Lawrence population. This population of Belugas are protected from being sought out and from direct approaches by commercial whale watching boats, and behavioural guidelines have been developed for vessels that unexpectedly encounter them.

            Currently in Newfoundland we are doing nothing to protect the Beluga whale. However I believe we should adopt the rules used when encountering the belugas of the St. Lawernce. When these majestic creatures our in our waters we should not approach them. If we see them we should move away from this creature and give them the space they need so as not to disturb the animal in their natural habitat.

If you want more information on Belugas you can check out the following sites:

http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/virtual_sara/files/cosewic/sr_beluga_whale_e.pdf

http://www.nfl.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/e0008989