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16/18: LME FACTSHEET SERIES

CANADIAN EASTERN - WEST LME

tic LMEs Arc CANADIAN EASTERN ARCTIC - WEST GREENLAND LME MAP 18 of Central Map Arctic LME

Greenland

Iceland

Iceland

16 1 ARCTIC LMEs

Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) are defined as of work of the Arcc Council in developing and promong the ocean space of 200,000 km² or greater, that encompass Ecosystem Approach to management of the Arcc marine coastal areas from river basins and estuaries to the outer environment. margins of a connental shelf or the seaward extent of a predominant coastal current. LMEs are defined by ecological Joint EA Expert group criteria, including bathymetry, hydrography, producvity, and PAME established an Ecosystem Approach to Management tropically linked populaons. PAME developed a map expert group in 2011 with the parcipaon of other Arcc delineang 17 Arcc Large Marine Ecosystems (Arcc LME's) Council working groups (AMAP, CAFF and SDWG). This joint in the marine waters of the Arcc and adjacent in 2006. Ecosystem Approach Expert Group (EA-EG) has developed a In a consultave process including agencies of Arcc Council framework for EA implementaon where the first step is member states and other Arcc Council working groups, the idenficaon of the ecosystem to be managed. Idenfying Arcc LME map was revised in 2012 to include 18 Arcc the Arcc LMEs represents this first step. LMEs. This is the current map of Arcc LMEs used in the

This factsheet is one of 18 in a series of the Arcc LMEs.

OVERVIEW: CANADIAN EASTERN ARCTIC - WEST GREENLAND LME

The Canadian Eastern Arcc – West Greenland LME includes Baffin Bay - a large, elongated basin with a maximum depth of >2300 m, , the south-western shelf of Greenland, and the northern part of the shelf. Baffin Bay’s very large north-south extent, conguity 1.1: North Water to the North Atlanc Ocean, mulple 1.3: Eastern linkages to the Arcc Ocean, and 1.4: Northern Baffin Bay direct contact with Greenland’s vast 2.1: Baffin Island coastline terrestrial masses make this LME 2.2: Baffin Bay shelf break a parcularly dynamic and sensive 3.1: Haon Basin-Labrador Arcc regime. -Davis Strait 3.2: Its deep and coastal shelf waters 4.1: Southern Baffin Bay are, with the excepon of the and, in most years, its south-eastern areas off southern Greenland, fully ice-covered between January and April. The ’s numerous , calved chiefly at the glaciers of West Greenland, are an equally dominant feature of the Map: The Canadian Eastern Arcc – West Greenland LME. Source: AMSAIIC Report marine environment whose movements are determined largely by a combinaon of condions and the The hydrography is characterized by circulaon of region’s strong cyclonic (an-clockwise) system of Atlanc water through Baffin Bay and Lancaster currents in the upper water column. Sound, and flow of Pacific water from the Arcc Ocean through passages in the Canadian archipelago It is also one of the largest Arcc LMEs, 1,4 million and . The Pacific water is nutrient-rich km2. and is one factor why the primary producon is relavely high in this LME.

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MARINE Bowhead is one of only three that dives then did males. Three prey items appear to be spend their enre lives in ice-covered waters of the parcularly important in the diet of in the Arcc (the others are Narwhals and Belugas). The Baffin Bay area: polar , Greenland and the number of bowheads in the Baffin Bay and Davis squid. The summed total for the subpopulaons is of Strait region was unl quite recently considered the order of 80-100,000 individuals. being in the low hundreds. The noon of a very low stock size was contested by hunters and elders ranges from the Atlanc Ocean up into who had observed a considerable increase in the Davis Strait and Baffin Bay. Killer whales have occurrence of bowheads in their areas since the historically been harvested in the LME because they 1960s. It is now apparent that the earlier esmates have been seen as competors with man. Early of populaon size were much too low due to limited whales would kill them due to perceived compeon surveys in only parts of the range of the populaon. for other whales, and also for shoong pracces. Large-scale aerial surveys in the eastern Arcc have been afraid of killer whales, and kayak Canada in 2002-2004 resulted in best esmates hunters in Greenland would return to shore or enter ranging from 5,000 to 14,000 individuals. an ice floe when killer whales were nearby. They would nevertheless harvest killer whales if there Belugas winter in loose pack ice along the west coast were opportunies. Greenland and operated of Greenland south of . Aerial surveys in commercial for some years unl 1972. Killer late winter (March) have shown that most belugas whales have been reported to aack and kill a wide are sighted within 50 km from the coast with range of species including bowhead, beluga, concentraons. Aer 2001 there has been a dramac and seals. decline in sea ice along West Greenland. With less ice there is a wider distribuon of Belugas, while in years are associated with moving pack ice over with heavy ice the whales occur more concentrated shallow waters of the arcc coast for much of the in restricted areas closer to the coast. Belugas were year. When ice is lacking in summer and fall, they hunted in South Greenland and a large scale driving congregate and haul out on land at sites that are and neng fishery with motor boats started early in oen situated on low, rocky shores with steep or the 1900s. A total of more than 11,000 belugas were shelving subdal zones where animals have easy harvested in the Nuuk and Maniitsoq districts from access to the water. are primarily benthic 1906 to 1929 and resulted in the virtual feeders, and are generally confined to shallow coastal disappearance of belugas from areas south of 66oN. waters (<80–100 m depth) where they forage on Belugas feed on fish, including redfish, polar cod, bivalve molluscs and other invertebrates. Their and squid beaks. The esmated asymptoc length and weight were about 2.7 and 3.1 populaon in 2002 was around 20,000 whales. m and about 700 kg and 1100 kg for females and males, respecvely. The populaon size appears to Narwhal occurs in the LME throughout the year, be around 3000 animals. wintering in southern Baffin Bay and northern Davis Strait in areas of heavy pack ice with 90–99% ice has a circumpolar distribuon as far cover for around 6 months. Tagging results and north as 85ºN. Primarily a boom-feeder, its surveys have shown that narwhals are widely distribuon is largely determined by the presence of distributed and dispersed throughout the pack ice in shallow water. Bearded seals usually move into areas the wintering areas. Narwhals are acvely diving and of open water <200 m deep when the pack ice feeding at the pack-ice covered wintering grounds. retreats, although some associate with ice year- Whales have been recorded to make 13-26 deep round. They are rarely found in fast ice areas, but are dives to over 800 m on average per day and to spend widely dispersed in open water areas of pack ice an average me of about 3 hours per day at those where leads and cracks are frequent, and where ice great depths. Many of the deep dives went to 1400 pans are sufficient for haul-out sites. m or more, and females were found to do more deep

3 Harbour seal is a coastal and insular seal with wide is a medium-sized (about 1.8 m in length distribuon in temperate, boreal and sub-Arcc and 130 kg in weight) ice-associated and migratory areas of both the North Atlanc and North Pacific. seal. The harp seals are usually found associated Its populaon in Greenland was esmated to be less with sea ice and they move north into ice infested than 1.000 animals in 2007, compared to an waters as the seasonal ice cover opens up and esmated number of about 3.000 seals in 1950, and disintegrates. Adult harp seals are gregarious and it is now protected. Harbour seals are known to typically occur in groups of 5-50 individuals when enter rivers, and 60-100 seals were observed 80 km they are travelling in search of food, oen up a large river in south-western Greenland in ‘porpoising’ at the surface (Finley et al. 1990, recent years. They possibly pursue Arcc char which Sergeant 1991). Two fish species are parcularly is considered to be an important prey in Greenland. important as food for the Northwest Atlanc stock Other prey include , polar cod, Atlanc cod, of harp seals: and polar cod. The Northwest Greenland cod, golden redfish, and long-rough. Atlanc stock is esmated to have increased from Harbour seals usually forage <50 km from their around 2 million seals in the 1970s to about 7-8 haul-out sites, although tagged seals have been million in 2010. found to disperse farther. is a North Atlanc species found with is a widely distributed and abundant two main populaons in the northwestern and species in the Baffin Bay system where it occurs northeastern Atlanc. It is a relavely large and with the Arcc ringed seal subspecies which has a sexually dimorphic seal where the males are larger connuous circumpolar distribuon around the than the females (mean lengths of 2.5 and 2.2 m, Arcc Ocean. The ringed seal is an important and mean weights of about 300 and 160 kg). element of the arcc marine ecosystems, both as a Hooded seal is an excellent diver that can reach main prey of polar bears, and as a major consumer 1.500 m or more and remain underwater for up to of marine fish and invertebrates. An esmated one hour. It feeds on deepwater fish such as redfish populaon has been around 1.2 million individuals. and Greenland halibut and squid, and takes also Historically it is a popular catch in Greenland with pelagic fish like polar cod and capelin, and on average around 50 thousand seals per year for crustaceans like and northern shrimp. An esmate the period from the 1970s to the 1990s caught in of about 600.000 individuals for the total Northwest Western Greenland. Ringed seal feeds generally on Atlanc populaon of hooded seal was made in small pelagic fish and pelagic and ice-associated 2006. crustaceans, but they are versale and can also feed on demersal prey at the seafloor. Polar cod is commonly the dominant prey, and the amphipod is oen also an important prey in many areas.

4 occurs widely distributed on sea ice in the LME from south to Labrador, but is rare in Greenland south of Disko Island. Polar bears are opportunisc feeders, but their primary prey is the ringed seal. The distribuon and populaon size of polar bears are thought in general to be regulated by the distribuon and numbers of ringed seals. A study indicated that beluga was the second most important prey for Baffin Bay bears (20-30%), followed by smaller amounts of bearded and SEABIRDS harbour seals (around 5% each). These numbers vary between studies. The LME supports a significant fracon of worldwide Arcc seabird breeding and over-wintering The Baffin Bay subpopulaon was esmated to populaons. The most numerous breeding species number about 2.100 bears in the late 1990s. There in this LME are dovekie or lile auk (33 million has been a controversy concerning the size and pairs), thick-billed murre (1.2 million pairs), trend of the Baffin Bay polar bear subpopulaon northern fulmar (242,000 pairs), and black-legged between Inuit tradional knowledge and the views kiwake (162,000 pairs). of sciensts. According to Inuit the bear populaon had increased and the quotas were increased in the Most seabird species are colonial breeders, oen co-management system. Sciensts claimed that the occurring in large colonies along steep rocky coasts, populaon could in fact be decreasing, and that the and they oen occur as mixed-species aggregaons. reason for increased observaons of polar bears The highest diversity of breeding seabirds in this near selements had been less ice, forcing the bears LME is found in West Greenland. to spend more me on land in poorer condion due to limited food. It has been esmated that about 20 million seabirds, including approximately 14 million The results of Taylor et al. (2005) suggested a fairly dovekies, may winter in the area. These numbers high natural populaon growth rate (unharvested) include several marine bird species that breed, feed, of about 5-6 % per year, and a posive annual and rear broods in terrestrial tundra habitats in growth of about 2% for the harvested stock. They summer and then winter in marine habitats, oen in suggested that what appeared to be the current shallow waters along sheltered coasts. The most harvest rate of 60-80 bears per year was likely to be numerous of these tundra-nesng species is the sustainable. The average Greenland harvest of polar king eider (300,000 birds). bears from Baffin Bay was reported to be even higher at 147 animals y-1 for the period 2002-2007. Using the combined Canadian and Greenland harvest record and a populaon simulaon model, the Baffin Bay subpopulaon was esmated to have declined to <1.600 bears in 2004 reflecng substanal over-harvesng.

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WATERFOWL Thirteen species of waterfowl are common or The three most ecologically and economically regular breeders in the LME. These are 5 species of important pelagic plankvorous fish species in this sea ducks (common and king eiders, long-tailed and LME are Atlanc herring, capelin, and arcc cod harlequin ducks, and red-breasted merganser), one (Boreogadus saida). Greenland halibut are dabbling duck (mallard), 4 geese (brent, snow, distributed throughout the LME. Like the Greenland Canada and greater white-fronted), and 3 species of halibut, Atlanc halibut are widely distributed on divers (red-throated, black-throated and great the shelves and on the connental slopes of this northern diver). In addion, 8 species breed more LME. peripherially adjacent to the southwestern part of the LME (4 sea ducks (black and surf scoters, Along the West Greenland shelf, commercial fish Barrow’s and common goldeneye), 2 dabbling ducks species include Atlanc cod, Greenland cod, redfish, (northern pintail and common teal), greater scaup, Greenland halibut, long rough dab, wolffish, and tundra swan). The most common and sandeel, and northern shrimp. Atlanc cod are widespread species are long-tailed duck, common found from inshore waters out to the edge of the eider, king eider, and red-throated diver. connental shelf along southern Baffin Island, Labrador, and southwest Greenland, whereas Greenland cod are more common in the harbours and ords of western Greenland and Labrador.

Other fish species in the LME include sand eels or sand lance, in coastal and offshore banks along south-western Greenland, roundnose grenadier, in deep waters along the slopes south of the Davis Strait (Atkinson 1995), Greenland sharks, in deep SHOREBIRDS waters throughout the LME, and Greenland cod, About 13 species of shorebirds are regular breeders mainly in coastal areas at depths <200 m in cold in the LME. These are 6 species of calidrine waters off western Greenland and on the western sandpipers (red knot, sanderling, and side of the LME, including the northern Labrador semipalmated, white-rumped, Baird’s and purple shelf. sandpipers), 2 phalaropes (red and red-necked), ruddy turnstone, common snipe, and 4 plovers The arcc char is found in lakes, rivers, and estuaries (American golden, grey, common ringed and along the coasts of Greenland, Labrador, and Baffin semipalmated). An addional 5 species have a Island. Anadromous juveniles spend their first five peripheral occurrence in the area (least, pectoral to seven years of life in rivers or lakes before going and buff-breasted sandpipers, dunlin, and common to sea for the first me. When at sea, most char snipe). apparently remain within 30 or 40 km of their natal rivers, although long-distance movements (e.g., 400 km) have been documented.

LITERATURE REFERENCES Acknowledgements • The 2007 assessment of Oil and Gas in the Arcc PAME gratefully acknowledges the financial (OGA) - AMAP (2007) support provided to this project by the Nordic • Arcc Marine Areas of Heightened Ecological and Council of Ministers and the OAK Foundaon. Cultural Significance: Arcc Marine Shipping Assessment (AMSA) IIC - AMAP/CAFF/SDWG (2013) • Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) of the Arcc area Revision of the Arcc LME map - PAME (2013)

6 ARCTIC LMEs 1. Faroe Plateu LME 2. Iceland Shelf and Sea LME 3. -East Greenland LME 4. LME 5. LME 6. LME 7. LME 8. LME 9. East LME 10. Aleuan Islands LME 11. West Bering Sea LME 12. Northern Bering- LME 13. Central Arcc Ocean LME 14. LME 15. Canadian High Arcc - North Greenland LME 16. Canadian Eastern Arcc - West Greenland LME 17. Hudson Bay Complex LME 18. Labrador- LME

SOURCES: AMAP - Oil and Gas Assessment AMSA IIC Report Large Marine Ecosystems of the Arcc Area Report

SEE MORE ON PAME.IS Including: Large Marine Ecosystems of the Arcc Area Report (2013)

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2016