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FISHERIES RESEARCH BOARD OF CANADA

ARCTIC UNIT

Montreal, Que.

Annual Report and Investigators' Summaries

April 1, 1961 to March 31, 1962

H. D. Fisher, In Charge FISHERIES & OCEANS CANADA PECIIES T ()CEOS CANADA RESTRICTED LIBRARY 13IBUOTHEQUE • Material in this report is not to be quoted without 20() 'UM', STATION 7244 exPlicit_Permission OTTAWA, ON K1AO€

FISHERIES RESEARCH BOARD OF CANADA

ARCTIC UNIT

Montreal, Que.

Annual Report and Investigators' Summaries

April 1, 1961 to March 31, 1962

H. D. Fisher, In Charge

" '

1 ) ) I REPORT FOR 1961-1962 OF THE ARCTIC UNIT, MONTREAL, QUE. by H. D. Fisher, Scientist in Charge

Research to establish a basis of information on aquatic productivity of northern Canada was continued from the Unit's temporary quarters at 505 Pine Ave. West, Montreal. Studies on marine mammal stocks on the Atlantic coast were intensified.

Much effort is •going into the simple discovery of what aquatic resources, particularly the fishes which are relatively little known, occur in the arctic, and what the present growth rates are. From this work and from practical investigations designed to assist the growing number of arctic fishing and marine mammal hunting projects, a number of areas in which long-term basic studies on various aspects of production are desirable have indicated themselves. . A swing to such studies from widespread surveys gradually is occurring and will probably continue. At the same time a degree of flexibility must be maintained in order to deal efficiently with the unexpected short-term demands for information which occur as the gradual opening up of the north continues. In all this work close liaison is maintained with • the Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources, under whose auspices largely development of exploitation of arctic aquatic resources is taking place. -2-

Considerable time in 1961 went into preparation for a survey of àquatie biolOgy in the arctic islands in H1962 . Such« of the'reqUired fuel, supplies and equipment • was stored . at Resolute, Cornwallis Island, bY Department :of Transport .'Sealift from Montreal. 'Close liaison is maintained, through the Canadian Committee on Oceanography,'with the .Division of OceanOgraPhic Research of 'the Department:of Mines and Téchnidal Surveys and with the Board's Atlantid -Oceanographic Group, particularly - for Plankton•studies. Systematie,Samp1ing in one eeasOn over à very large area has become possible as a resUlt of this, from the. arctig to the'Atlantic coast. *. In 1961 a large amount of fresh water in the Yukon and Northwest.Territories waS opened to commercial fishing. .-The Unit 'assisted Departmental , officers in setting up a: system- of rotational fiàhing in:selected regions of the • to allow a' high rate of. exploitation fora given • region followed by a nfallown period to:enable stocks to recuperate. . , * . Plan's, for erecting new and.permanent quarters for the west . end of 'Montreal Island progressed to the -Unit .on a stage where it is expected that . construction will begin . in 1962. The lease 'from MeGill University for . .present

• quarters expires inAugust, 1963. • . • • . The Unitls , >50-foot research vessel "Calanus", working in northwest:Hudson Bay'and adjacent.areas to the north, and the 38-foot "Salvelinus" working along the western arctic coastline, were again wintered at Churchill, Manitoba and Aklavik, N.W.T. respectively.

Fisheries Investigations Yukon Lake fisheries. With the opening up of Yukon lakes to commercial export fishing, limnological studies were begun on Laberge and Quiet Lakes, considered likely to have divergent characteristics. Sampling of fishes, mainly whitefish and lake trout, for growth, food and parasites, and limnological collections were carried out. A winter party followed the commercial fishing on Lake Laberge. Whitefish and lake trout were small (ay. 1.4 lb and 2.6 lb) but in good condition and free from Triaenophorus infestation. Frobisher Bay char studies. Field studies on arctic char of the Sylvia Grinnell water system were con- tinued as a biological check on the commercial, native and sports fisheries there. The commercial export quota of 10,000 lb round weight was taken in less than a week. No reduction in average size of char was apparent in the catch. Sampling carried out in the spawning area, Sylvia Grinnell Lake, in July when tides are low and access from the sea is blocked by falls at the mouth of the river, indicated that all of the sea-run variety over 45 cm in length present were potential spawners of the year. This, together with a very low percentage of potential spawners of the_year in catches.from the. sea Suggest•that mature . char:remain in the parent lake in a spawning' year.

- _,Cambridge -Bay char studies.. Char studies were been at Cambridge Bay, - Victoria Island,* with.the initiation there of a icOmMercial'export,fishery based on the stock from 'the Greiner Lake system.- .Char . from Greiner Lake 'were - found •to attain_sexàarffiaturity at'9 years,-3 years. earlier than do- those.from . Frobisher.Bay. They also reach.their Ultimate size at18-or 19,..:about 2 . years earlier.tht.a.:do those from • Frobisher Bay. • . : • The Greiner. Lake system is not considered large . .;ehough to support a Stock for'continued commercial fishing. s' The Ferguson Lake-system.or•adjacent_Wellington Bay supports a more promising . 'fish stock, with anestimated potential Sustainectcommercial.take of . 40,000 . lb'of chat and the same weight of lake trout annually, . . . . • • Cambridge Bay lake trout studies. Lake trout of .Greiner . Lake, which are taken by a native.fishery largely In the fall and winter after freeze-up, were examined in detail. Figure s . on•growth and-maturity Compare closely with thOse redorded. for Great.Bear Lake'. The largest trout . taken was •a female'Weighing 33 lb, aged about 30 years. .i . Spawning ocCurred:largely between August. 22 and September •3 1'earlier. than the char spawning which occurs after.freeze-up. - : Relict invertebrates in Greiner - Lake..- Certain invertebrates normally found in Salt Water were recbrded from Greiner Lake. The distribution of such species in fresh water is closely connected with the formation of proglacial lakes during and after the Pleistocene. Greiner Lake can be shown to have emerged from the sea comparatively recently, about 1,000 years ago. Shingle Point (Yukon) welfare fishery. A native fishery was organized at Shingle Point by the elfare Division of the Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources. Shingle Point encloses a long, narrow and shallow harbour on the coast west of the Mackenzie River. Fishing by sweep net and gill nets from July 6 to August 13 produced 11,000 lb of fish, mainly freshwater herring and inconnu. Specimens were collected for study, and data on catch per unit of effort were recorded. M.V. "Salvelinus"--exoloratory fishing. The "Salvelinus" continued exploratory fishing from Aklavik, working in the Tuktoyaktuk-Liverpool Bay-Husky Lakes region of Mackenzie District coastline. A number of hydrographic stations was occupied. Bottom fauna was scarce and numbers of fish scattered. True herring (Clupea harengus pallasi) were found in several locations, and evidence that spawning is local was obtained. Herring abundance in the inshore areas sampled was not great enough to suggest trawling or seining, but a type of weir is considered possible and will be tried next season. Analysis to date of "Salvelinus" collections have extended the range of 10 specieà Of marine fishes, and have produced the.first.Canadian record of the phylum Pogonophora '(Ibeard-worms"). APproximately 100 species ,of benthonic marine - invertebrates have:been recOrded tà ' . ; H

Marine Mammal Investigations Harp seals. Biological observations made during an aerial inspection flight over moulting herds in late April and May by the Department of Fisheries led to the conclusion that an aerial photographic survey could be carried out of the entire moulting population of immatures and adults in 1962. Plans were made to carry

this out in 1962 using two aircraft, one in the Gulf of , St. Lawrence and one off the east .coaàt of Newfoundland -

, and Labrador.: . Aerial photographic ›coverage .to.date has -

-. been carried OUt9nly'on whelping patcheà, for the west Atlantic stocks. The annual sampling:of southward migrants, from . the net fisheryat La Tabatiére, P.Q., was carried out'for ,a Check on age'composition. Stich an annual check is now

. available.for the periOd 1952 to 1962. .Application of the , most recent reSults to a life table constructed last year

- indicates that . the balanced annual catch by all agencies during the decade 1951-1961 should not have exceeded 200,000 Yoting

- :seals, close_ to the figureof 180,000 calculated last . year. The actual Catch in fa:et haS Substantially exceeded this,. with the corresponding substantial decrease in stocks indicated by the aerial photographic survey of 1960. Harbour and grey seals. In view of the importance of these species as vectors of a major fish parasite, work was continued in an attempt to assess the present status of stocks in the Maritimes. Some field work on harbour seals in the Lockeport, N.S. area, where special attention has been given by the St. Andrews station to the incidence of the cod nematode Phocanema decipiens in fishes, confirmed general indications of bounty returns that there has been a decrease in the harbour seal population. Seals are still present at Lockeport but very difficult now to hunt.

Experiments with 14-inch mesh nylon nets suggested further reduction would be possible with organized use of these. In June a careful check was made on the stocks of harbour and grey seals on Sable Island, 120 miles east of Halifax, when 572 grey seals and 549 harbour seals were counted, of all ages. Harbour seals were whelping, and a subsequent aerial survey in January, 1962 confirmed that grey seals also whelp there. All nematodes in the stomachs of 7 Sable Island harbour seals taken were Phocanema Aerial surveys for grey seals in the Maritimes in January, 1962 resulted in a preliminary estimate of 2,000 for this species, somewhat lower than previous estimates unsupported by aerial counts. Ringed and bearded seals. In a continuing effort to supply general guide lines for projects involving increased exploitation of arctic seals, a large amount of

weather information has been sommnrized, to show probability of suitable hunting weather in the open-water season in various areas of the arctic. This is particularly useful in the application of netting systems which offset dis- advantages of bad weather, for example in Hudson Bay which has the lowest percentage of days suitable for traditional hunting methods.

• Walrus. sAn aerial census, supplemented by a survey by vessel, was carried out in the northern Hudson Bay walrus areas of Coats Island and the southeastern part of Southampton Island. A minimal estimate of the walrus

population in this region was 2,650, close to a 1954 estimate

of 3,000 by the Canadian Wildlife Service. Although the

average annual kill for the last eleven years of 180 is

close to the estimated annual increment of about 200, there is no evidence as yet that the population is being over-utilized. White whales. Aerial surveys of white whales or • beluga were carried out during July in western arctic area • of Mackenzie Bay. While only small numbers of whales were

encountered by air, surveys by other •government agencies show that the stock is widespread in Amundsen Gulf during

summer and is underexploited by the present small hunting effort. Kendall Island, the present native hunting base, 9-

was concluded to be the best site for a proposed expansion of whale hunting. A system of reporting on sightings of marine mammals by various government sources has produced good information on distribution of white whales in the Canadian arctic, and indications of promising hunting sites.

Biological Oceanography M.V.TUalanuA' field season. The'Calanus" was sailed in northwest Hudson Bay, Roes Welcome Sound and •Frozen Strait between July and September. Forty-six stations were occupied. In all, 325 plankton and 29 benthos samples were taken, and data were collected on water temperature (325 readings) and salinity (262), •oxygen(295), phosphate (132) and nitrate (80) content in conjunction with biological sampling. Temperatures ranged from -1.72°C at 340 metres in Frozen Strait to 9.0°C at the surface off Chesterfield Inlet; oxygen from 6.44 m1/1 to 9.51 m1/1. Phosphates were between 0.4 ,ug and 3.1 jig at/l, nitrates 1.9 .pg to 15.4 pg at/l. Highest values for nitrates, and greatest abundance of zooplankton occurred in the more northern waters, rather than in northern Hudson Bay. Zoobenthos varied little over the region sampled, rock bottoms being exclusively found. Arctic and boreal plankton studies. Coordination of programming between the Arctic Unit and the Division of -10-

Oceanographic Research of the Department of Mines and Technical Surveys, and the Board's Atlantic Oceanographic Group, have made it possible to obtain in 1961, concur- rently•with synoptic surveys, plankton samples from the Arctic Ocean south to the Atlantic coast. From Hudson Bay adjacent to the area of the M.V. "Calanus" program, 83 zooplankton and 228 phytoplankton samples were taken; from Barrow Strait in the archipelago, Baffin Bay and Davis Strait, 85 zooplankton and 258 phytoplankton samples were taken; from the east coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, 35 zooplankton and 84 pheoplankton samples were taken. Analysis of all of these is proceeding, beginning with a study of the 3 species of the copepod genus Calanus which occur in the area, and adding a study of the young stages to that already completed and reported on of the adult stages from former field work. The immediate objective here, in addition to determination of breeding times and rates of development, is an ecological assess- ment of the species in terms of water masses inhabited by the young stages. Continued analyses of data on hydrography and zooplankton of Ogac Lake, a semi-landlocked head of a fjord in Frobisher Bay, collected in former years has led to an extensive review of literature on physiological rates, growth and fecundity as functions of temperature, as fundamental for an adequate accounting of marine secondary production. -11-

Phytoplankton studies were continued in the laboratory with the major aim of producing an illustrated monograph on northern dinoflagellates. The geographical distribution of some forms of diatoms and dinoflagellates with a view to assessing their value as indicators of water masses is also being studied. Some work was carried out at the St. Andrews station in conjunction with their studies on toxicity of the dinoflagellate Goniaulax tamarensis, in relation to morphological differences between toxic and non-toxic forms. PERSONNEL (April 1, 1961 to March 31, 1962)

Scientific H. D. Fisher, M.A., Ph.D. Principal Scientist, in charge J. G. Hunter, M.A. Senior Scientist E. H. Grainger, M.Sc., Ph.D. Senior Scientist L. Johnson, M.Sc., Ph.D. Associate Scientist A. W. Mansfield, M.A., Ph.D. Associate Scientist I. A. McLaren, M.Sc., Ph.D. Associate Scientist D. E. Sergeant, M.A., Ph.D. Associate Scientist A. S. Bursa, M.Sc. Assistant Scientist Administrative and Clerical G. F. Hart Administrative Officer 3 Lois G. McMullon Clerk 4 Emmy K. A. Dreyer Stenographer 2 Nancy J. Mussett Stenographer 2 (from June 5, 1961 to March 6, 1962) .Elaine M. Daley Stenographer 2 (from March 12, 1962) Technical B. D. Margetts, B.Eng. Technician 4 (from April 24, 1961) Barbara M. Barry, B.Sc. Technician 1 (to Sept. 15, 1961) B. Beck Technician 1 (to April 21, 1961) I. G. GidneY Technician 1 T. R. Welch Technician 1 (from Oct. 23, 1961) Elizabeth E. A. Cleaver Assistant Technician 3 Shirley T. Leach Assistant Technician 3 Seasonal and Term M. 3: Dunbar, M.A., Ph.D. Senior Scientist (May 15-July 15, 1961) M. M. R. Freeman, B.Sc. Technician 1 (May 19-Dec. 1, 1961)

Joyce D. .L.11y, B. Sc. . Technician 1 (Half-time term to ..Tune 2, 1961) :J. P. Christopher Assistant Technician 3 (from Feb. 15, 1962) J. B. Armstrong Student Assistant (June 1-Sept. 15, 1961) J. R., Bray, B.A. Student Assistant (May 1-Oct. 21+, 1961) D. B. Farnsworth Student Assistant (May 15-Sept. 26, 1961) R. D. Humphreys Student Assistant (June 1-Sept. 27, 1961) •D. C. Marsh Student Assistant

(June 1 - Oct. 3, 1961) D. Y. E. Perey, B.A. Student Assistant (June 15-Oct. 3, 1961) A. - F. Reed. • • . Student Assistant (May 16-Oct. 5, 1961) W. D. Robb • Student Assistant (May 15-Sept. 28, 1961) H. H. WeblDer Student Assistant (June 1-Sept. 29, 1961) Catherine F. Quick Stenographer 2 (to May 31, 1961) PUBLTCATIONS (January 1 to December 31, 1961)

Bursa, A. S. Phytoplankton of the Calanus Expeditions in Hudson Bay, 1953 and 2:754-7—U. Fish. Res. Bd. Canada, 18(1): 51-83. •The annual oceanographic cycle at Igloolik in the Canadian Arctic. II. The Phytoplankton. J. Fish. Res. Bd. Canada, 18(4): 563-615. Abstract: Phytoplankton successions in the Canadian Arctic. Bacteriological Proc., Soc. Amer. Bacteriologists, 1961, p. 47. Grainger, E. H. The copepods Calanus glacialis Jaschnov and Calanus finmarchicus (Gunnerus) in Canadian arètic-subarctic waters. J. Fish. Res. Bd. Canada, 18(5): 663-678. McLaren, 1. A. A biennial copepod from Lake Hazen, Ellesmere Island. Nature, London, 189(4766): p. 774. Methods of determining the numbers and availability of seals in the eastern Canadian arctic. Arctic, 14(3): 162-175. McLaren, I. A. and A. W. Mansfield. The netting of sea mammals. A report on the Belcher Islands experiment, 1960. Fish. Res. Bd. Canada, Arctic •Unit Circular No. 6, 11 pp. Sergeant, D. E. Whales and dolphins of the Canadian east coast. Fish. Res. Bd. Canada, Arctic Unit Circular No. 7, 17 pp.

MANUSCRIPT REPORTS

McLareni 1. A. The hydrography and zooplankton of Ogac

..Lake, a landlocked fiord on Baffin Island. 'Fish. Res. Bd. Canada, MS Rept. Series (Biol.) . No. 709, 167 pp. A preliminary analysis of weather suitable for . seal hunting from boats in the eastern Canadian arctic. Fish. Res. Bd. Canada, MS Rept. Series (Biol.) No. 716, 6 pp. MANUSCRIPTS SUBMITTED,FOR PUBLICATION

Bursa, A. S. Phytoplankton successions in the Canadian arctic. 'Proc. Int. Symposium for Màrine Microbiology, 1961. (In Press) Dunbar, M. J. The life cycle of SaRitta eley,àns in arctic and subarctic seas, and the modifying effects of hydrographie differences in the environment. J. Mar. Research. (In Press) • Grainger,Y. H. , Zooplankton of Foxe Basin in the Canadian . arctic. J. Fish. Res..Bd. Canada, 19(3). (In Press.) iAsteroidea of the "Blue.Dolphin" expeditions

. to"Labrador. Proe'.. U.S. Nat. Mus. (In Press) Merimmon, Hugh and Joseph Bray. Observations on the isopod Mesidotea entomon in the western Canadian ' Arctic Ocean. J. Fish. Res. Canada 19(3). '(In Press) Sergeant, D. E. The biology of the pilot or pothead whale Globicephala melaena (Train) in Newfoundland waters. Bull. Fish. Res. Bd. Canada, No. 132. (In Press) On the external characters of the blackfish or pilot whales (Genus Globieephala). J. Mammalogy. • The biology and hunting of beluga or white whales in the Canadian arctic. Fish. Res. Bd. Canada, Arctic Unit Circular No. 8. Southward, Eve C. A new species of Galathealinum (Pogonophora) from the Canadian arctic. Can. Journal of. Zoology, Vol. 40, 385-389. (In Press) Previously Reported McLaren, I. A. Population dynamics and exploitation of seals in the eastern Canadian arctic. In: The exploitation of natural animal populations. Eds. E. D. LeCren and M. W. Holdgate, Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford. (In Press) INDEX TO SUMMARY REPORTS

APPENDIX Number Page Arctic Islands Survey for 1962 1 2 Yukon Freshwater Studies 2 3 Arctic Char Studies--Sylvia Grinnell Watershed 3 4 The Arctic Char of Greiner Lake 4 5 The Lake Trout of Greiner Lake, Victoria Island, N.W.T. 5 7 Relict Species in Greiner Lake 6 12 Shingle Point--Welfare Fishery 7 13 Exploratory FiShing in the Western Arctic (M.V. Salvelinus) 8 15 Moulting Areas of Harp Seals 9 20 Age Composition of Harp Seals 10 22 Catch and Survival of Young Harp Seals 11 24 The Harbour Seal Problem in the Lockeport Area 12 26 Grey and Harbour Seals at Sable Island 13 2c) Present Status of the Grey Seal in the Maritimes 14 • 36 Weather and Arctic Seal Hunting 15 41 Present Status of the Walrus Population at Southampton and Coats Islands 16 41 White Whales 17 48 M.V. Calanus Field Season 18 53 Zooplankton of the Arctic Ocean and Adjacent Canadian Waters 19 57 Zooplankton of Baffin Bay, Davis Strait and the Nedfoundland Area 20 59 -2-

APPENDIX Number Page Zooplankton of Hudson Bay 21 62 M.V. Calanus Invertebrate Collections 22 62 The Effects of Food and Temperature on Zooplankton Growth and the Adaptive Value of Vertical Migration 23 64 Hazen Lake Studies 24 66 Phytoplankton Studies 25 67 Fisheries

The work during the year 1960-61 consisted of:

1. Programming of and placing of equipment and supplies for a fisheries, marine mammal and hydrographie survey of the Canadian arctic islands in the summer of 1962.

2. Investigating Laberge and Quiet Lakes in the Yukon Territory where a commercial fishery was opened by the Department of. Fisheries in December 1961.

Continued study of the arctic char in the Sylvia Grinnell River system on Baffin Island.

4. An investigation of the (a) lake trout and (h) arctic char potential from lakes in southern Victoria Island.

Observations of the Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources Welfare fishery at Shingle Point near the mouth of the Mackenzie River.

6. Continuation of the M.V. Salvelinus exploratory program of the marine and inshore areas of the western and central arctic.

Most field work was carried out during the summer ice-free period by three permanent staff members, five student assistants and one Eskimo technician. Two members from permanent staff sampled the commercial fishery in Laberge Lake during the month of December.

No. 1 Arctic Islands Survey for 1962 Preparations were continued for a biological survey in the Canadian arctic archipelago in the summer of 1962. Major aspects of the survey are to gather in-

formation on the life history, distribution and relative • abundance of different species of fish and marine mammals, and to study the general productivity and changes in marine water masses that occur during the season. Five locations were selected as base camps: 1. Wellington Bay, Victoria Island 2. Mouth of Thomsen River, Banks Island 3. Resolute, • Cornwallis Island 4. Creswell Bay, Somerset Island 5. Eureka, Ellesmere Island Approximately 45 tons of fuel, food and equipment were shipped to Resolute by the Department of Transport in August 1961. Additional equipment and supplies subject to damage from freezing were prepared for shipping by freighter aircraft in May 1962.

J. G. Hunter _3_

No. 2 • Yukon Freshwater Studies In preparation for the opening of certain lakes

for commercial operations in the winter of 1961-62 a summer

party (D. C. Màrsh and J. B. Armstrong) visited the Yukon to investigate, in some detail, the limnology of two selected lakes which were considered likely to have divergent characteristics. The lakes selected were Laberge and Quiet. Considerable information was obtained on the physical and biological characteristics of these lakes, principally Lake Laberge. In December a winter party (L. Johnson and I. G. Gidney) was located on Lake Laberge to follow the commercial fishery, which at that time was the only one operating within the vicinity of Whitehorse. Whitefish predominated in the catch followed by lake trout. Table I gives the statistics for the catches observed.

•Table I. Catch statistics for the winter fishery on Lake Laberge. No. Total Net Catch / net day Species No. Total Tt. Mean Wt. Days White- 365 228 kg .63 kg 40 9.12 •5.7 kg fish (505 lb) (1.38 lb) (12.5 lb) Lake 120 140.7 kg 1.17 kg 40 3.0 3.51 kg trout (305 lb) (2.58 lb) (7.7 lb) Total catch/net day 9.21 kg (20.2 lb) In additiOn to the . above small qiiantities of burbot (Lota . lota). 9 pike (Esox lucius) and inconnu '(Stenodus leticichthys).weretaken.. The.whitefish were generally small (Av. 1 )4 .1b) only four exceeding,1 kg (2.2 lb) but they were in good,Con- dition and free frOm Triaenophorus infestation. The trout iikewise . were . in excellent Condition but tended to be rather small (Av. 2.6 lb). - •

L. Johnson

No. 3 . . Arctic Char Studies--Sylvia Grinnell Watershed . A commercial fishery for arctic char .at the mouth of the Sylvia GrinnellMver was started in 1958. In . view of the fairly heavy utilization of these stocks by Eskimos and sportsmen a quota of 10,000 pounds.(round weight) was set . for this system.by the Department ofTisheries. Each

.:year since 1958 this quota has been caught in a few days. In 1961 the commercial fishery, using 4e-mesh nets (100 yds x 2 yds), started July 2 and finished. July . 7. Approximately 50% of the fish caught bY this flshery was saMpled. Analysis of the material collected has not been completed but no change :in average size was . readily apparent. Catch' per unit of effort for three years' fishing

. shows only a slight-decline.

. Year Catch/net/tidal cycle 1959 34.4 1960 . 28.2 1961 26.1

A falls on the Sylvia Grinnell River situated in the tide-water area is impassable to upstream migrating arctic char, at periods other than when spring tides are occurring. Past work on the char of Sylvia Grinnell River indicated that only 15% of the adult fish in the sea were preparing to spawn, while a very large proportion of adult char caught in the lake during the season were in advanced stages of maturity. Past observations on lake char were always after a time when upstream migration could have occurred and possible maturing stock could have entered from the sea. In 1961 netting carried out in Sylvia Grinnell Lake from July 12 to July 16, a period when no sea-run stock could re-enter the system, showed a very high proportion of the adult resident fish were at advanced stages of maturity, confirming the fact that a high degree of segregation takes place between spawning and non-spawning stock.

J. G. Hunter

No. 4 • The Arctic Char of Greiner Lake A commercial fishery for arctic char in Cambridge Bay, Victoria Island, was initiated July 18, 1961. The major portion of this catch was considered to have derived

■•■■ from Greiner Lake ., a relatively -small .system,situated at the head of Cambridge Bay. The catch from this fishery was not sampled but:experimental Catches-Were made in Greiner Lake itself. . Growth . The char'samples from Greiner Lake during the sum- mer came from both the anadromous and the landloCked popula- tions. The resultant growth curve bears only minor 'semblance to the actual growth patterns of the two forms."' Points of àomparison, however, :show that maturation first occurs at about 9 years of age, or 3. years younger than char in the Sylvia Grinnell River and that average ultimate size occurred 1 to 2 years"eàrlier in Greiner Lake than in Sylvia Grinnell River. • •

• • Spawning • • • Spawning was not observed but maturing and mature . char were caught.at a rocky location near shore in 12 to 18 . feet of water. Female char with loose eggs . in the ovaries •were first taken near the end of' August : but no:spent char were caught by the time fishing-ceased on Sept. 3. 'Feeding Habits " Char caught in the commercial fishery were observed to have fed principally on polar cod (Boreogadus saida). On . a few occasions amphiPods made up the complete complement of 'food items and in one specimen only sand launce (Ammodytes sp.) had been eaten.. • • • Char caught in "Greiner Lake" fed mainly upon- -7.-

branchiopods, àmphipods and insects (chironomids). Occa- sionally sticklebacks (LIILLIL12 2213111.1111) were .found in stomach samples. No cannibalism was observed and frequently . .sampleS were taken in which the stomachs were empty. ' After August l4 when the upstream migration started char caught in the lake near the outlet river contained re- ' cently eaten polar cod in their stomachs, indicating a rapid change fràm marine to fresh water.

J. G. liunter

No. 5 The Lake Trout of Greiner Lake, Victoria Island, N.W.T. Two lakes in Victoria Island were sampled, Greiner Lake near Cambridge Bay and Ferguson Lake whose outlet flows into Wellington Bay. In both systems it is apparent that lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) and char (S. albint0 are present in quantity. Both species in the Greiner system support a native fishery in addition to fairly heavy exploi- tation of the char by sports fishermen. The char are taken during their feeding migration to the sea in summer, but the trout are largely fished in the fall and winter after freeze-up. The trout of Greiner Lake were examined in some detail and data and scale samples were obtained from approximately 200 specimens. Greiner Lake covers an area of 18.01 square miles ât a latitude of 690 12 1 North. The maximum depth is 34 ft but most of the bottom is only 18 to 20 ft below the surface. The temperature regime is distinctly arctic, break-up occurring during the . .third week in. June and in :1961 an ice tover was _established during thé firSt week_in September.. The maximum temPeraturereached by the surface waters was .80 0 (46)40 F) during the second and third'weeks in August. The open-water . period is apparently. 'fairly productive, and invertebrates are abuhdants'.:.This,is doubtless . dUe to - the fairly,high pH (7 )4) and a high total alkalinity (114.0 part s. per million). , , Growth: ' - .Scale sampleS.taken were read with - considerable •difficulty due to the slow-grawth.of the trout and the,age ...to . which o they'doMmonly live,doupled with lack of .01arIty • •in the annuli - The width between subtessiveannuli was measured,on all scales and thelength of...each' fish at each age'was determined by back o calculation using.a straight proportional relatiOnshipAs:the:sample was sbali and

. :contained riofishunder 6 .r.years of age this procedure con- siderably:impréved'the growth data... The.general growth 'pattern is .given in Fig..l. In the early yearS the growth appearsto.be satisfactorily tharacterizedby the equation: = +3.03 and in-later years by:. . • y = 2 ..51x + 8.50 These lines intersect at:. '. . =. 35.7 ". x:= ,10.7 , . 'Thà'intersection giVes the age a.t which the change in growth rate takes place. -This may be torrelated with the énSet Of maturity butmature fish arenot . found until 2 to years-later . , There.is né . significant difference in the Fig. 1. Growth of Greiner Lake . Lake Trout

60 -

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y= 3.05x +3.03 y= 2.5Ix +8.5

Standard Deviation

1 I I I 1 1 I I 1 o 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 H 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 AGE (years) -10- growth of males and females (p = 0.9) over the ranges observed. Eight females over 60 cm in length were caught, the largest being 101 cm and weighing 14,950 gm (32.9 1b), whereas only two males in this category were taken, the largest being 62 cm. The age of the largest female was estimated at about 30 years and the largest male at 19 years. There is thus an indication that the females attain a considerably greater length than do the males. The smallest mature male and female were 42.0 cm and 43.2 cm respectively. The youngest mature male was 13 and the youngest female 14 years old. These figures compare very closely with those obtained for Great Bear Lake by Miller and Kennedy (1948). Table I gives a brief , comparison of the data.

Table I. Age and length of lake trout from Great Bear and Greiner Lakes. Age at Length at (years) maturity 2 7, 10 20 maturity Great Bear Lake 9.8 29.3 37.2 62.6 42.0 13 Greiner Lake 9.13 24.4 33.5 58.7 42.0-43.2 13-14

• • Spawning- • . . Spawning,takes place along - the rocky shoreline at à depth. of 12-15 ft. As.previously observed spawning . starts at:the age-of 13 to 14 years, but:that it does'not occur annually after this agé is shown by the - number of- older fiel;showing:no signs of. maturity during - the relevant -11-

period. However the number taken does not allow an assessment of the actual frequency, in addition to which, a large proportion of the sample was taken on the spawning beds. Spawning starts about August 22, that being the first date on which lake trout were taken with salmonid eggs •in their stomachs. It is very improbable that these could be char eggs as this species does not apparently spawn until after •freeze-up. By September 3, at whlch date fishing operations had to be discontinued, most of the fish caught were spent. Feeding Habits Analysis of 185 stomachs gave the following results:

Contents No. of Occurrences Occurrence Empty • 69 36.1 Lepidurus arcticus • 64 33.5

• Mysis relicta 24 • 12.6 Chironomid larvae 12 6.3 Gammaracanthus loricatus • 7 3.7 (Salmonid eggs 6) Fish Char • 2 Lake herring 1 (Leucichthys sardinella) Stickleback 1 (Pungitius pungitius) Remains 2 6 3.1 Caddie larvae 5 2.6 Plankton 3 1.6 Mesidothea entomon 1 .5 Thereere at least three main points of interest in this analysis, the first is the relatively small quantity

of , fish in the diet of these lake trout, second is that out of a total of 69 fish with empty stomachs 49 were mature and spawning animals. It is rather difficult at present to understand the reaSon for the lack of fish in the diet, •although the relative scarcity of young fish in the net catches may be an indication of their overall scarcity. The youngest lake trout taken was 6 years old. No small fish apart from the stickleback (P. mmulum) were observed in the shallows.of the lake. More information on the • habitat and behaviour of the young is badly needed. The main food of the trout in August is the Nostracan Lebidurus arctieus which is apparently very abundant, great numbers being found in many stomachs. The remainder of the items occur relatively infrequently. However three species: Mysis relicta, Gammaracanthus loricatus and Saduria entomon (Mesidothea entomon) are of great interest in that all three are generally considered to be 'relicts' (see below).

L. Johnson

No. 6 • Relict Species in Greiner Lake In addition to the three species mentioned above as occurring in the stomachs of lake trout a fourth member 13-

of this group, Limnocalanus macrurus, was collected in plankton hauls. Two species, Gammaracànthus and Mesidothea, have not previously been recorded from the fresh waters of North America in conditions where contact with the sea was impossible. All of these species occur in the fresh waters of northern Europe and Asia and two of them, Mysis relicta and Limnocalanus macrurus, also occur in North America. The distribution of all the 'relict' species is closely connected with the formation of proglacial lakes during and subsequent to the Pleistocene. The finding of the above species in Greiner Lake is of great interest in that this area can be shown to be of comparatively recent (±1,000 years) emergence

. from the sea.

L. Johnson

No. 7 Shingle Point--Welfare Fishery A commercial fishery planned for the Mackenzie Delta region by the Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources failed to materialize through equipment breakdown. Efforts were then directed to sampling the welfare fishery at Shingle Point. Shingle Point encloses a long, narrow, shallow (6 to 8 ft) harbour on the coast 10 miles west of the Mackenzie River. The area provides an excellent harbour

for smallcraft, a good location forcatChing . moderate:,

:numbers of .fie and •white whale and is well situated:'for' i 'basing caribou,liunting Operations. During•thesummer •:Smallfishéry was organized by ,the.Weifare Division of the .1)epartment - of Northern Affairs:and NationalJteàources. . This fiShing- Camp included. 40. Eskimos, . about 50 dogs and - 2 Departmental'supervisors..- . . • Fishing . was carried. out with a 200-ft-sweep net and a number•of gill netsof . 3i-, 4i- and 5-in stretched. .measure mesh 1 sizes. Nets,. 6 ft - deep and,150 ft long,. were . usually set, out at right.angles from shore in the upper •reacheS of the harbour. .The'fiShery.operated.frOMJuly 6 , to August 13 dUring.whichitime , weather frequently , prevented

: -tending of.nets.• . ' : . . : . . • 'The catch madedUring this interval is shown in the following•Table. • - Table I.. NuMbers,total andmean'weight of 6 species of -fish caught at Shingle Point'in 1961. • -

• Total. , Mean , :Number. • . weight - : weight Species -of fish '(round). Stenodus,leucichthys -* 783 3,341' (inconnu) Leueichthys sardinellà 6,013 " 2,428 .(least cisco) :-

•Leucichthys autumnalls , . -3,4444 463e . (arctic cisco)- Cor egonus hasus• 122 ' 433 3.6 . (broad whitefish) Cor egonus clupeaformis 23 52 •(lake whitefish). Salyelinus alpinus - . 5 : , . 11 2.3 , (arctic char

Total 10,390 . - • 10,728 , • 1.03 -

-15-

An estimate .of 25% of this catch was used as food and dog food while in the fresh state. The remainder was.processed by drying and salting. Other species'oceasionally caught were: Clupea harengus pallasii (sea:herring) . .Liepsetta glacialis (arctic sole) • Eleginus gracilis (saffron cod) • Osmerus eperlanus (smelt) . -Myoxocephalus auadricornis (4-horned sculpin) Pungitius pungitius (9-spine stickleback) • CatoStomus catostomus (northern sucker)-

J. G. Hunter

No. 8

Abnormally clear ice conditions in the Mackenzie area permitted passage of M.V. Salvelinus to Tuktoyaktuk as soon as it was readied for operation on July 1. A sub- sequent journey to Liverpool Bay and Baillie Island was made in early July and investigations in Liverpool Bay and the Eskimo Lakes were pursued until mid August when the vessel returned to Tuktoyaktuk. Scientific work was dis- continued at the end of August when the Salvelinus returned to Aklavik for wintering. A total of 91 stations were occupied by the Salvelinus during 1961, 38 of which included hydrographie 111•

work.: With regard:to:fisheries investigations, gill netting .received > primary,émphasis but trawling and seining'were also employed. ' A total:of 9,341 fish specimens were taken of which 2,494 (abOut 350 1b) were preserved and'Shipped sOuth. for further stUdy.- • The remaining .5,851 were examined in the field in order.to 'obtain lifè history and other . infor- mation. 'The-following fish species were collected between 'Tuktoyaktuk and Baillie.Island including Liverpool Bay and the Eskimo Lakes: (All names according to American Fisheries Society, Special Publication No. 2, 1960) Olupea harengus Herring

. Coregonus clupeaformis Lake whitefish Coregonus nasus - Broad whitefish Coregonus sardinella Least cisco .Coregonus autumnalis' Arctic cisco SalVelinus namaycush'•. Lake trout .Stenodus leucichthVs, Inconnu Osmerus dentex Arctic smelt Esox lucius. Northern pike Boreogadus saida Arctic cod Eleginus gracilis Saffron cod • Gadus ogak • Greenland cod .Lotalota • Bur bot :Pungitiuà pungitius Ninespine stickleback Artediellus uncinatuS Hookear sculpin lcelus spatula. . Spatulate sculpin - 17 -

iviYoxocephalus quadricornis - Fourhord sculpin Myoxocephalus scorDioides Arctic sculpin .MyoxoceDhalus scorpius Shorthorn sculpin

Triklops Dingell . Ribbed sculpin Gymnocanthus tricuspis Arctic staghorn sculpin LiDaris herschelinus LumDenus fabricii Slender eelleenny Lumpenus sagitta Pacific snakèblenny Lycodes turneri Polar eelpout LioDsetta glacialis - Arctic flounder Platichthys stellatus Starry flounder

Migratory runs of the sea herring ÇluDea harengus . were encountered in Liverpool Bay and in the salty-to-brackish Eskimo Lakes. Larvae and fry of this species were collected in the Tuktoyaktuk area corroborating the suggestion that the population spawns locally'. The species may be of economic importance for local use in Liverpool Bay if an efficient harvesting Method can be introduced. With regard to other species, the area investigated appears to support only local populations of marine and anadromàus fishes which can be depleted within a few days of concentrated fishing effort with such gear as gill nets. Inshore trawling along Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula was hampered by too shallow depths but was more productive in the immediate vicinity of Tuktoyaktuk. In this area, for about two miles offshore, existed a biomass of 'groundfish of about -18-

10,000 lb per square mile. Beyond-two miles from shore, the figure dropped tO about 3,000 lb per square mile and . . became_stillless farther out to sa. Populations in the southern part - of Liverpoolliay approached ,4,000 lb pet Square mile but trewling_in thé - shallow, flat areas of the Eskimo Lakes yielded nothïng.. The deeper areas (5 to' 1F0 'fathoms) of the lakes could not.be trawled because of the irregularity of the bottom. 'Throughout the area, the , species moSt;commonly taken in trawl haulsiwere • Myoxocephalus cuadricOrnis, Liorisetta glacialis and Éleginus graciliS. The average weight Of the fish was usually less than ill. . A total of '63 species of invertebrates have been • identified - from trawl and dredge collections made during the summer- . $:)f these, the Pelecypoda-and Gammariidae are

. :the best represented with 22 and l4 species respectively. An impoverished benthos fauna was found to : exist on the hard,sand bottàm in southern Liverpool: Bay and along . A much richer fauna was found Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula. to exist on the mud bottom bàrdering theàç areas. In • northern Liverpool Bay the starfish Urasterias lincki was , found to have a,biomass'approaching 3,000 lb per square . mile and lived in association with relatively large numbers Ofthe peleCypod species - Astarte borealis and %coma baltica. The benthos of the Eskimo . Lakes compriSed mainly the , pelecypod Mytilus edulis and the ascidian Rhizomoigula globularis. : . -19-

The following fish species were collected from the Mackenzie River near Aklavik while the Salvelinus was being readied for operation in the spring:

Coregonus clupeaformis Lake whitefish Cor egonus nasus Broad whitefish Coregonûs autumnalià • Arctic cisco Stenodus leucichthys' Inconnu Esox lucius Northern pike . .Semotilus margarita Pearl dace Catastomus catastomus Longnose sucker Lota iota Burbot Percopsis omisiomaycus. • Trout-perch Pungitius pungitius Nine-spine stickleback

Before departure in September an investigation of a location in the Richardson Mountains, referred to locally as the "Fish Hole" was carried out by Bert Webber and myself. This was accomplished by flying to Canoe Lake, 20 miles NW of Aklavik, and travelling the remaining 15 miles on foot. Arctic grayling, arctic char and lake whitefish were collected from the watershed in question. Specimens of the recently-described phylum Pogonophora have been identified from the Salvelinus collections made at Herschel Island during 1960. This discovery comprises a first record for specimens of this phylum in North America.

J. R. Bray ›IM

Narine Mammals

Moultine . Areas- '0f.liarD Seals An aérià1 reconnaissance was.càrried . olit eaSt •

: of:NewfoUndland and Labrador in late April and early May • of_1964 . preilminarY to'a'photographio estimate of numbers' of Moulting *seals tO be.carriecLOut:In. 1962.:. This SurVey was gréatly.àided:by reports re'ceived .frOm ice observerS: 'of the Department:of : Transport ànd,from sealingships, • which 'covered ln addition the Gulf of St Lawrence and .extended over:à longer period than'Our:survey. H: In eàrly.l961 ice was exceptionally heavy - in , ' , the Gulf of St. Lawrence and perSisted . late..- . Moulting ipatcheS : Of harp sealà àtarted.to forml_n thecentréiGulf . . làte March A. few htindred Were tàkén north .- in the Màgdalen:Islandsbyseaiing :ships-up tO:mid'April, of àrld elfew hundred alcing. :thenorth shore of Quebec in late ,April., . East of NewfoUndland a large patch-formed' off the Avalon Peninsula. in'late Marchi and small patChes were metwith.in nOrthern Trinity Bay and- southern Bonavista • Bay ineariy . April.' .A.large:pàtch in outer Notre Dame Bay persistecUfrom - early, April to• early May, and in early May•additional'patches were found off the Grey Islands in White Bay and:Off Spotted Islands, :Labrador, No moulting seals - were.seen north:of Spotted. Islands as • far as Cape-. Harrison. ?ig . 1. HARRISON MOULTING PATCHES of HARP SEALS 1961 %May 1

GREY 0 I. , ilpe£ no o_ may.7FA .•. 1;1 I • .> hprzt 1(7 1-1

NOT le Are? DA NCE B AY a 1, o ricuer.0 maxel,_Zia etelcuci,.21 Maitk-55 0Ae IV° 0 ofricuch Mcuch,92-à23te onfele Matri46 0[,te gee Plank Pret-ie 5- e.* eNIAGDALEN I S, 2-

It is concluded that a moulting survey of the

whole population could be carried out with two planes, One working the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence between March 30 and.April 10 or 15, and the other, longer-range plane working the east coast of Newfoundland from end March or early April, moving gradually northward off northeast Newfoundland and continuing to late April. This plane could also cover the ice in the Strait of Belle Isle and northern Gulf of St. Lawrence.

D. E. Sergeant'

- ' * * Age Composition of Harp'SealS „ I :A sample oe 621 canine . teeth of harp seals collected during the soilthWard migration at La Tabatière • and neighbouring points on the north shore of .Quebec in . January 1962 was used-for age-analysis- in the usual way (See AnnualReport of the.Arctic Unit for 1960-61, P. 27). The results'confirm those of the previous year. •The year-class of 1957 continues to show highest repre-

sentation (Fig. ly_. with that of'1958 closely following'. • it. Later year7classes are not yet fully represented but appear'to be normal in size. The 1956 year-Class •remains . at about half strength.following the large kill . of young seals that year,estimated at 340,000 taken by •all agencieS. : The largest subsequent kill has been 210,000 111:1959.. 20 1961 SAMPLE 15

roam. 19 56 10 E-i 4. 5 o C=I=I=1

PA 15 1962 SAMPLE

10 1956 t 5

2 '6 8 10 12 14 16 '' 18 20 22 24 AGE IN YEARS

Fig. 1. Age composition of harp seals. . As. studied a decade ago, 40% of female harp ' seals of this population have attained sexual maturity by 5 years of age, 80% by 6 years, giving birth for the first time a year later. Significant increase in pro- duction of young may therefore be expected from the recent series of year-classes showing good survival, beginning about 1963.

E. 'Sergeant

I , No. 11 • • - Catch and Survival of Young Harp Seals, ' • , Age samples have-now been obtained for 10 . of ' •the 11 years 1952 tO - .1962 frctim the,.fishery for harp: seals . ,La'Tabatière... at - • . ›. -The dominant' year+class in thesesamples . was .5 years in 195 and 1953 , and either 4 or 3 : years: in sub-. sequent. years For , the 11-year-period, then,' the : 4 :yéar . olds Can be taken as fully tePresented in the samples except . in :1952 and 1953 when a-proportion Were absent. (The' large proportion of dmMatureà rabsent:is due to their later southward-migration - . If each year-class of 4 year olds is expressed ' as a percentage of its total sample, and plotted against the total , kill' of 'young of that year-class (taken 4 , years previous) the' .result is as shOwn in ..Figure 1A. - Seen that per cent survival of the 4 yeàr AGE COMPOSITION:

350 • • calculated.from . - life table 300 , -- La Tabatière samples, 1952 —1962 j scaled down.

- 250 0 o 200- o o 150 o rr4 0 100 o E-I ‹ Z.) 50

71 2 4 6 8101211416182022214. PER CENT OF SAMPLE AGED 4 kRARS AGE IN YEARS Fig. 1A. Catch of young harps plotted Fig. 1B. Method of deducing per cent against survival 4 years later. of pop,tszlation , missing in Tabatiere sample. See text. -26- '

.014:decreaSes with increasing catch. Catch levels during : the stated period . laY between about 150,000 and 340,000 young, and Survival at 4 . yeàrs varied froà.20' of„ ,La Tabatière .semples. . - in the'Annual Report of this Unit for 196061, • pp. 2'f-25, a 'life table for:a:balanced population of harp ' seals was computed. In this life table, the'4-year olds represent:7.67%..of the total population just before .breeding. Equating the 4- year. olds - (Fig. 1B) it is • 'calculated that abolit17.6%.of the population ià missing as immature, seals from_the la Tabatière Samples. 'This ' would'alterthe - balanced proportion of 4 year.olds.to _9.3% of the La. Tabatière sample. Reading from. Fii.:1A, thià suggests that the balanced catch during the decade -' . 1951-1961 should not have exéeeded about 200,000 young sealsThià is close to the figure of 180,000 obtained . in the life table from a théoretiéal annual recruitment' .of 750,000 young'. The suggested balanéed catc h. would bé that taken '.by àll agencies, shïPs and landsmen, which crop this:popeation of harp seals.' •

D. E. Sergeant

NO. 12 The lIarbOur Seal Problem in the Lockelport.Area - In 1957 an investigation into.the incidence of neMatodesin fillets of . Cod'frOm.the Iockeport area -27-

of Nova.Scotia was lundertakèn preparatory to the initia- .

- tion of a program to reduce the number of harbour seals, Phoca vitulina, which are the principal definitive hosts of Phocanema (Porrocaecum) decipiens in this area (see Scott and Martin, 1959). • As a preliminary Step in this program, we spent • the period May 25 tô June 3 in the Lockeport area in an attempt to assess the-feaSibility of. increasing the local catch of seals. Results werè:not tao encouraging since - - the few fishermen interviewed appeared apathetic in their '• feelings towards seals.. Most stated that they disliked Seals,because-they took lobsters out of their traps (there was surprising- unanimity on this story) and>ate Salmon 'caught in- gill nets, but few fishermen seemed inclined to kill the seals,'and some even felt it was wrong.

- àertainly there is a local superstition that killing sealS .• will 'bring bad luck, but haW many of the local fishermen

▪ share this view is not known. However the bounty payment appears to overcome .this reluctance on the part of some of the men, but no one at Lockeport appears to hunt the seals actively for the reward. Seals are usually taken - incidentally to other work such as tending lobster pots and set nets close inshore. - We did find one active seal hunter at Blanche in Negro Harbour. This man claims a dozen or more . bounties annually and Makes special trips, especially during - the pupPing"season (mid May to nid. June) 'females and -their: yoting at.the heads of the bay's. - He . .obviously has hosuperstitiouS feelings about killing them.' ,Opinions-were divided on the present numerical '.status of the seallpopulation, some fishermewmaintaining . ' that numbers had decreased euch over the'last 10 years,'. -while: others'insiSted that there were still.as many seals as ever. HoWever . several Of the people who thought that numbers.had decreased were able,to.point . to former hauling- • .out rocks which are no longer.fréquented. Withlittle change .in human population in the area, this is good evidence that there are fewer seals now, an assumption - I , supported by the:steady decrease in pup catch throughout .the Maritimes since'1950- . Apart froffi two females with.new-born.pupS seen. near Clam Island'at.thellead of Lockeport HarbOut, •other seals - seen were at Potter's Ledge,' south of Rama " Island, th••area chosen by Scott and Martin fOr:their inshore sample of cod. These 'seals were elusive when approaChed by.boat.and.we never got'near enough to shoot' •them; but by setting two 50-yard nylon nets of 14-inch mesh (see McLaren and Mansfield, 1960) we were able to collect one specimen overnight, and several days later, after we had left Lockeport, the Fishery. Officer collected another. It is our opinion that if the present steady reduction.in harbour seals effected by the bounty system is-to be increased, , then several sUch nets, regularly

'attended by a local fisherman, would be of as much value • as specially organized hunting - trips, and would be a far

• more economical proposition. 'The nets, of course, would •

have to be'placed so that there would be no interference

. with traditional fishing sites. • •

McLaren, 'I. A. and A. W. Mansfield. 1960, Thé netting

- of see mammals. A report on the Belcher

• ' Islands experiment, 1960.. Fish. Res. Bd. • Canada, Arctic Unit Circular No. 6. .

Scott, D. M. and W. R. Martin. 1959. The incidence of nematodes in the fillets of small cod from

Lockeport, Nova Scotia, and the southwestern Gulf of St. Lawrence. J. Fish. Res. Bd. Canada

16(2), 213-221.

A. W. Mansfield and H. D. Fisher

' .No..13 . Grey and Harbour Seals at Sable Island

. In June 1961 we flew across to Sable Island specifically to make an estimate of the seal population there and to extend our investigations on the general

. life history 'of the harbour seal and the grey seal Halichoerus grviclus. Air transportation to the island is -30- _ :a comParatively ii.ew 'venture, and_haS noW. made possible

"reasonably. . acciarate bensusing of ' the maMmal populations. We used a twin-engined Piper, 'Apache' Which is an 'excellent. ...aircraft for making : landings on .the - hard-packed .Sand,H and furthermore 'ha's» . good all- round visibility for observers .. • We- folloWéd. our Initial aerial sUrvey of the ..' island on June, '.15 with a week spent among the .dunes and - : along .the: beaches, 'Observing and counting 'seals and taking . : selected, specimens for laboratory study. A final aerial . survey .phl June: 27:. (Fig. 1) enabled us tO reconfirm..our. :e'estimateS , of the 'seal population 'as well:as counting the . hprSesin_ the island's herd.. In addition to our own . observations,-: .we. collected verbal reports from past and ' • present re S idents of the is land'.. - • On January 26,..1962 we again flew to Sable ' . Island and were :able to confirm former reports that , the grey. -seals breed there. - ,(a) Halichoerus grypus, . grey seal . In FebruarY 1948 the pilot of an. aircraft ' flying over Sable' Island - reported sighting a patch of . . several .hundred seals with White coated ,pups on the . surrounding iàe: The 'true identity of theàe seals was , not 'established until 1949 when Dr. D. M. Scott, studying the life history of the cod worm 'Phocanema (Porrocaecum) • decipiens, received a collection of both harbour and grey: . the -island.. IdentifiCation was sub7 seal stomachs from • sequently 'confirmed by lower jets sent with the stomachs; 46 SABLE ISLAND NOVA SCOTIA

Sc al e:- o 1 2 Mlles 350

66 64 62 60 UM Water

Stabllized Sand

I I Unstabllized Sand

6 1 I 40 15 59

30 55 12 15

Fig. 1. Map of Sable Island showing distribution of grey seals (underlined figures) and harbour seals on June 27, 1961. Other details: A. abandoned old main station. B. present radio station and light. C. meteorological (radiosonde) station. D. Wallace Lake. E. abandoned No. 3 life-saving station. F. East light. 38 14 59 14 10 22 rs 28 38 37 3•0 63 15 row w-

-32-

' and correspondence with Captain Patrick Solowan, Depart- ment of Transport superintendent on Sable Island, indicated the existence of considerable numbers of both species of seals and confirmed that the animals seen in February 1948 were whelping grey seals. On our first aerial survey on June 15 1961 we saw just over 400 grey seals distributed as follows: 150 hauled out in one large group at the end of the western spit, 15 scattered along the north shore in the shallow water, and 250 hauled out in another large group about two thirds the way along the eastern spit. They were 1. easily'distinguished from the harbour seals . bitheir 'uniformly dark grey. colour,_both:when hauled out on the sand and when Swimming.. This disposition.was maintained :throughout:our Stay on the island,theigrey seals.remaining in several large:groups Well_but on the bare sand sPits away:from the consolidated dunes. Their ,exposed POSition ' made observation difficult and we were only able to stalk the animals unawares when they Were-lying on the'steeper -- lower part of the beach.. On June 16 We-observed'a group' 'of 190 at the extreme western end of the'island.. .All age - groups:appeared td te present since we could identify young of the:year, as well - as immatures of both Sexes and adult:males and.fémales.- The animals were closely packed -together in ,one large_ „group which took to thewater . very- quickly when .disturbed by us. Thelarge size of the:young: 'g

-33-

indicated that birth had taken place some months previously and lent support to the other evidence for a late winter

whelping period. • On June 27 we counted from the air the following numbers of grey seals: 425 in two groups on the east spit e 2 on the south coast, 15 along the north coast and 100 in two groups at the end of the west spit, with another 30 on a sand bar a few hundred yards further on. On January 26, 1962, we again observed much the same distribution, though now the seals were scattered rather than being packed into a few dense groups. Most of the breeding seals were confined to the proximal four miles of the eastern spit, the remainder of the sand bar, except for several hundred yards at the eastern tip, being under water. We counted 99 adult males, 161 females with possibly some immatures, and 112 white coated pups. Fewer seals were at the west end of the island, our total count there being only 2 males, 21 females and 22 pups. The total production of pups agrees well with the population observed in the summer of 1961 and might explain the presence of young wanderers which are taken by fisher- men along the shores of Guysborough and Halifax Counties in Nova Scotia in the spring and summer months. No grey seal specimens were taken whilst we were on the island since we were unable to approach within reasonable shooting distance of them on the exposed sand -

HeWever Scett and Fisher (1958) record that .the received from Sable Island in 1949 were :.three spedimens .,each,infetted,with Phecanema'Aulnleal. H - • _ (13)' Phoca vitulina . , harbour seàl„ ' • • . J. S'Erskine. (1954) saWfew harbpur'seals on his visit te the1sland -in . 1952 but:noted that ,thotisandS : .iwere reported to have hauled out on the:beaches.in earlier . times. .-This report was confirmed by Dr. T. H,Radaall - who.told us:that harbOur'seals'were comMon onthesouth H :beach àt . the western., end ef thé island in the'.192P's,.' • ' Fortunately we had continuously good-weatherforà,week on our visitthere and Wereablé tô Census the,seals . . adequately. Frôm' the flight made on June 15 We Saw harbour seals distributed as follows: 90 on the west Spit e mostly . - and well aWay from the grey.seals; 15 on the south side . on - the north beach, ànd- 150 scattered in groups along .the south beach.. Frem our walking trips made during.the next week, and the subsequent aerial survey on June 27, we were . able to see that this pattern .0±' diStribution . remained . fairly constant. .The.harbour seals were never closely aSsociated,with the:grey seals, except for one small group on the western spit, but remained scattered in , groups of from 6 to 63 e averaging 30, along the south

. .beach opposite the consolidated,dunes (Fig. 1).. - About half of this population along the south beach reMained opposite Màllace.Lake and the tWo smaller ' - 35- lakes to the east, and tracks in the sand indicated that the seals frequently crossed the quarter mile from the beach to the lakes. On June 17 we counted about 100 seals in Wallace Lake, with three groups of 25, 20 and 35 on the sea beach. Smaller numbers were seen on later days until on June 27 the lake appeared to be empty of seals, though 290 were seen in groups along the sea beach. The lake is evidently a favoured pupping ground, since we found the carcasses of one new-born and two slightly older pups, as well as a small pup with the navel not yet fully healed. On June 21 we walked along the south shore of Wallace Lake and counted 25 adult seals, 18 of which were accompanied by pups. These were easily distinguished from the adults by their small dark heads and generally inquisitive behaviour. All the pups observed were in their first hair coat, and we saw no evidence of white natal fur on the few pups which still retained part of the umbilical cord. The adults had not yet moulted and, in contrast to the dark coated pups, had light sandy coloured hair, especially when they had been hauled out for some time and the hair was dry. Out of the seven specimens taken, one pup was still suckling, and an older animal had about a litre of fish remains, probably hake Merluccius merluccius, in the stomach as well as a small squid beak and pen. All the immature and adult seals were infected with small numbers of Phocanema decipiens. On January 126, 1962, *whilst estimating the H mumber ,of breeding grey séals 1 we exaMined the ,South beach ancl.Wallace Lake caréfully'leor harbour Seals, but were surpriSed .to-: find -.none.' . . . .

Erskine, J. S. 1954. The ecology of Sable Island. oc. Nova Scotian Inst. Sci. 23(2): 120-145.

Fisher. 1958. Incidence of the .ascarid'PorrocaecuM decipiens in the stomachs . . - 'of_three species of.spals elong the southerri: , .Canadian Atlantic Mainland. J. Fish. Res. Bd . . - :Canada 15(4):. 495-516. ,

A. W. Mansfield and H. P. .Fisher

NO. 14... Present Status Of the Grey - Seal in the Maritimes . - : - For at least the last..decade it haS been knCwn that:the grey: seal:HalichoeruS erypus is one of the final :hosts of the parasitic roundworm of cod Phocanema decipiens. However,the true'nature of the greY seal's importance as a vector of thé WormlaS neVer been determined since no reliable.estimate. of the population has been made before.-

- In January, 1962 . an attempt was made to : fill this . gap in Cur:knowledge of the grey sears life history by

- undertaking:an aerial surVey of the known breeding Sites

- in the Maritime Provinces described by Fisher (1955). His -

-37-

preliminary observations as well as the author's more recent ones, are listed in Table 1 together with the results of the aerial survey. The breeding localities are shown in Figure I together with the numbers of seals observed. Counts were made visually at heights ranging from 200 to 500 feet and were subsequently checked by rounds of photographs taken with a hand-held 35 mm camera. The aircraft used was a twin-engined Piper 'Apache' which provided excellent viewing for the observer. • The photographic results show that even after several visual counts of each group, many of the seals were missed. Thus the numbers recorded rely for the most part on the interpretation of the aerial photographs. From the counts made at Michaud Point, east Cape Breton Island, and from the previous season's work on breeding grey seals in Northumberland Strait, it is apparent that the number of adult females seen more truly represents the number of pups born and that few immature seals are ever found at •the breeding localities.

Since breeding females form about 20-25% of the total population, we arrive at a preliminary estimate of about 2,000 grey seals for the population in the Maritimes.

It may be argued that more pmps would have been born after the period of the survey, but previous seasons' work suggests that most females would have pupped by this date, though few pups would have moulted fully and returned to •the sea. —38-.

Table t. Grey seal. occurrence. -

Information fro'm previous years Results of 1962 aerial survey Map Ice Numbers ..een ref. 'Locality Summer Winter Date GM Grand Maman, the A -few killed by 23 Jan. None None Wolves . • bounty hunters . • 13M 69F 281- on fast - CL gest Cape Breton--- 5M 13F 19P seen 24 Jan. Fast ide up Canso Causeway to. 26 Jan. 1961. to one mile ice close to inore. Inverness Regularly pup on from shore. Probably many more fast ice in small 'pups, but difficult from a:.r. : numbers. to sée

.CG Cape George to 40 adults seen far 24 Jan. Fast ice up 3M 9F' 2P on fast ice Moydart Point, ' out on iee; 6M' 12F to 3 miles near. shore. Antigonish Co. ' near shore 10P wide ' 27 Jan. 1961„

Amet Island, 178P tagged 8, 24 24 Jan. 8-9/10 young 15M 34F 28P on fas t . Northumberland :Jan. 1955. ice ice close to island Strait - Greatest number and on beaches. 1ie Seen on one day 2P on top of isisnd 300. 13Y seen 18 Jan. 1961

T Cape Tormentine, 6A 53P killed 24 Jan. 8-9/10 young None destmorland Co. Jan. 1958 • ice

MR Miramichi Estuary,' Up to 40 adults 24 Jan 10/10 young None Negùac and killed by bounty ice Tabusintac lagoons hunters annually.. 90 observed off, Tabusintac outer beach on 4,Aug. 1949 .

young None PM • South' and east shores 'Report received that 24 jan. 10/10 Prince Edward Island ' 1200-1500 white- ice S. coated pups drifted shore; no • into Souris Harbour ice on E. on loose floe ice on shore :3 Feb..1951: 1"1« None 13R Bras d'Or Lake; Seals moVe into lakes 24 Jan. Half cover , in Oct. and Nov. àP taken on ice near . Baddeck 11 Feb. and 28 Jan. Half coyér None 6 Mar. 1952, but most seals pràbably Pup outside.

Sable Island 570 of all.age greups Whitecoats seen from •26 Jan. None 101M 184F 134 F mo'3t seen in June 1961 : aircraft in Feb. confined to east 1948. • spit

M,• ,Great Miquelon ,About - 200 seen in 26 Jan. None None seen or, 3evera Baraehois on 23 Mar. to flights 1950 7 Feb. . • MP Michaud Point, Cape Whitecoated pups seen 28 Jan. None 25E 124F 128P seen Breton Island .. . on land at Cape Canso small Island at ' and at Arichat in Michaud Pol%t Jan. and Feb. D Magdalen Islands Between 100 and 200 29 Jan. Patches of -2M 20F 1P •.(Deadmen Island) .seals, mostly pups • loose pack taken in years prior ' to 1951..

Total niamber - of grey seals seen in 1962. 159M 4301 3 29;-

This observation is probably a considerable overestimate. 45 °

60 ° 55 °

D 2. 20.13

MQ C,B 13.62.a5 BR

MP 33.114.124 40 °

Fig. 1. Aerial survey of grey seal January 23-29, 1962. Unde lined figures represent numbers males, females and pups ob erved. Letters refer to localitie named in accompanying Table.

101. 184. 134

65 °

50 0 50 100 150

nauflcal miles Other Ieeeding,lOcalities are unknown . at present, but we'may Sxpeettb'find colonies about Anticosti Island,

- along-the north shore of the St. Lawrence Riverat,'thé Mingan,Islands', : and,possiblyralong : the Nova ScOtian ooast ' from Halifax:north—to Canso:These localities will be • explored in futuresuryeys... . Breeding behaviour ' • ' - The two largestland.colonies visited,those àt Michaud Point and Sable Island, shoWed intérésting dif, eerences in structure. At Michaud Point the_breeding seals were:crowded on a small triangular7shaped flat-topped :island aboUt'150 yards wide and 250 yards long. - Though no distinct harems could be identified, the - bulls were evenly. Scattered throughout the éows,and pups, showing their . : .territorial behaviour Each bull was accompanied by an, ' average Of 5 Cows. On the.other hand at Sable Island, -where the breeding seals Can use at least- 4 miles of sand spit, they.are,wide17 -scattered and the proportion of males to:females drops to 1.3 to . l. This suggests that Where space perMits, the younger bulls will haul out in the . .breeding area since territorial> conflicts.will then be :minimal. ThisiDehaviour parallels the lareeding-behaviour on ice,, where individual bUlls aremore usually.associated • with a single cow and pup. .

Fisher, H. D. 1955. The grey seal Halichoerus ervpus > .(Fabricius):in the'west Atlantic. Unpublished MS.

A. W. Mansfield , 1"r Ur

- +l-

No. 15 Weather and Arctic Seal Hunting As part of a continuing assessment of the econo- mics of hunting bearded and ringed seals in the north, a • large amount of weather information has been summarized to show probability of a day's suitable hunting weather during • bi-weekly periods of the open-water season. The analysis confirmed and amplified the pattern of summer hunting, i.e. poorest in Hudson Bay (10% of days suitable), better in Hudson Strait (15-30%) and best in the higher arctic (35-65%). A Manuscript Report was produced on this. This work is part of an effort to supply general guide lines for projects • involving increased exploitation of arctic seals, and is particularly useful in the developing use of netting systems of hunting, which offset disadvantages of bad weather. The scope of this investigation is being increased by offers of more complete weather coverage on microfilms from the Meteorological Branch of the Department of Transport.

I. A. McLaren

No. 16 Present Status of the Walrus Population at Southampton. and ..Coats Islands The walrus.is a highly gregarious animal, and during the ice-free months forms dense herds at traditional hauling-out sites (Eskimo: ugli, Pl. uglit). These sites . are well known . to lOcal Eskimos, and aré'always' the scene of much hunting in the fall when most of the annuarsupply of wairus'Ideat is taken. . - • . . , In northern liudson,Barthe Sites cover a.lieted : area . and'are'readily.accessible to survey by aircraft. The distance involved is tod great to be covered easily by boat in a shcirt period of time, and such journeys are always .

• Subject to Changes. in the weather- which can be notoriouàly. bad for long periods in this area. .Since.the cost of using . :large aircraft for long periods isprohibitive l survey flights can usually -be'made.'onlY several times:during a season. Alone,. the methOd sinadeqUate, Since the walrus herds at the Unit .fluctuate Considerably in numbers, and aerial'survey must therefore be sUpported by .surveys from small vessels and . Continued:observation at certain localities. On.July 30, 19e1, a three7hour flight was carried cp-ut-in.a DC. 3.alonrthe.track shown.in:Figure 1.. This was

- ,.too early in:the. season to eXpect many walrus on the land Since-there was still extensive ice in Foxe Channel,.with a tongue of-loose pack extending from -Seahorse Point tO Leyson Point. • Only-50 walrus were'seenat the east Coats - ugli., all of the other sites,as well as , the - iCe -between ileyson and .. . -Seahorse Points', being deserted . .0n August:4 the:survey by Peterhead boat began. The numbers of walrus seen_are set out in Table I. .The east Coats .ug1i Was chosen: for detailed observation since.previous j+3- 84 ° 83 ° 820 81° 80°

FOXE CHANIVEL SOUTHAMPTON Coral z:Z3 Harbour ISIAND - Terror Point

64 ° ■ 1 .„Seahorse " Point 1 r-1.0 Bock Peninsula

Leyson Point

Walrus 1. • 1 1

1 Bencas I.\ 9

COATS East Coats ug/I

ISLAND Fig. 1. Map of So thampton and Coats Islands s owing position of . uglit andj tracks flown by survey ai craft.

10 .0 50

Nautical Mlles Table • Numberà or walrus observed atCoats'Island and southeastern Southampton : Island in 1961.-.

Hauling-out site 30 4 10 11 l315 1.6• 20 21 26 Walrus Island o • Bencas Island 0

C. Prefontaine 0 20 0 -r C. Pembroke 0 350 200 270 -r East Coats I. -50 1500 2100 500 • 260 300 670

Back Peninsula 0 0 • • 0

Seahorse Point 0 45 0 Terror Point 300 250 80

.100 observed insmall groups along the north cOast -of Coats Island. experience had suggested that this was the focal point • for walrus seeking the land. On August 8 the population

observed there was about 800, but this did not include a •large number of walrus hidden on the seaward side of the promontory. However, by means of a round of photographs taken from seaward, and a subsequent plan view of the ugli taken from an aerial photograph, the total number of walrus was finally estimated at 1,500. By noon the next day a further 600 walrus had • hauled out on the beach to the west of the promontory. This number was reduced to 500 the following day, and 260 the day after that. Observations of the coast, both north and south of the ugli, showed that the exodus was mainly confined to the south, the walrus probably seeking the •feeding shallows along the coast of Coats Island.

On August 15 a group of 200 walrus was counted at the Cape Pembroke ugli. Since the observations at the • east Coats ugli show that there was little movement towards Cape Pembroke, the two totals can be added to give a minimum observed population of 2,300 walrus along this coast. Later In the day, the crossing was made to Seahorse Point. The

Ideather was fair, with little wind and excellent visibility, •yet only one harp seal (Eskimo: kairulik) was seen between

Cape Pembroke and Leyson Point, and one squareflipper and •two walrus along the coast between Leyson Point and Seahorse Point, indicating that any local migration of walrus from -46- the ice of Foxe Basin to Coats Island was now finished. On August 16, 45 walrus were seen on an island at Seahorse Point, and on August 20, 300 more at Nuvvuaivalu, a small islet just south of Terror Point. Hunting is rarely carried out as far north as this into Foxe Channel, and this small group may well be relatively unmolested, especially if it returns to the same ,ugli year after year. Certainly the number of very large males in the group suggested that this • might be so. A final flight on August 26 showed the same distribution of walrus in the area (see Table I), though now more animals were seen scattered in groups along the north coast of Coats Island. The uglit at Kaalukta (Cape Prefontaine) and Bencas Island remained deserted, though in other seasons these had each supported large herds. The total estimated population of the Coats Island and Seahorse Point areas is therefore 2,650, a figure close to the 3,000 observed by •A. G. Loughrey from an aerial survey in August 1954 (see Loughrey, 1959), though it should be noted that about two thirds of this population were then hauled out in the Seahorse Point area. There is no sugges- tion that there has been a reduction in the population since -1954, since the numbers observed are considered minimal, and the total population in the area could well be many hundreds more. However this should be reconfirmed if any large increase in hunting activity is contemplated in future by the Departmeni of Northern Affairs. -47-

In a previous report (Mansfield, 1959), it has been estimated that the annual increment of the walrus population in this area is about 8%, which represents slightly more than 200 calves for the estimated population of 2,650. This increment is little more than half the annual rate of reproduction in other pinnipeds, but is offset by great maternal care of the young for the first three or four years and a corresponding decrease in natural mortality. Though the average annual kill for the last 11 years of approximately 180 walrus is close to the annual production of young, there is no evidence as yet to suggest that the population is being over-utilized. However, in view of the uncertainty of the population estimate, it would be unwise to increase the annual kill by any sub- stantial amount. It should be emphasized that accurate records of hunting kills and losses must be kept by both Eskimos and white men hunting in this area, if effective conservation is to be practised. To aid in this, circular letters and booklets containing diaries are being redistributed to all local officials responsible for the welfare of the Eskimos. These officers are earnestly requested to distribute the booklets to all capable hunters in an endeavour to collect more accurate statistics, as well as complete a sample as possible of lower jaws for age determination. Mansfield,::AW. -: 1959. .:The walrus.in the Canadian arctiC.

Fiàh. ÉteS. Bd. Canada Arctic Unit Circular No. 2,

13 pp. . .

- LOughrey, A. G. 1959. Preliminary investigation of the Atlantid:Walrus Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus (Linnaeus) -Dept. N. Affairs and National .Ràsources 'Wildlife Manazeffient Bulletin Ser. No14, 123 Pp.

A. W. Mansfield

No 17 White'Whales - Aerial surveys of beluga Or white whales Were carried.Out:in.the Mackenzie River estuary ànd : vicinity, .;from Liverpool Bay In the east . tO Shingle.Point . in the • west, between:July 16 : and 23. More than 125'belUga Were: -.Counted, large:groups being seen south of.Hendrickson. Island (being'hunte&froM . Whitefish -Station), and around - : Pullen, » Hooper, Pelly and Garry : Islands. .1he SerieS of groupS'around.these island“otalled the largest numbers and were clearly notbeing fully exploited from the nearby hunting. base at Kendall Island. One survey is not con- . ,clusive,"and-kills_are - knoWn to vary :from.seasOn to season . at each hunting site._ Nevertheless, 'Kendall Island seems the best:site for.eXpanSionof whale-hunting, especially - 1+9- if the meat and oil are to be processed with modern equip- ment, because it is the most central of the three present hunting sites ., so that catches should average out well, and because it has a sheltered approach by river for small craft and a processing plant. A large number of reports of sightings of beluga, contributed by personnel from varied Government sources-- Royal Canadian Mounted Police, ice observers of the Department of Transport, Canadian Wildlife Service, Depart- ment of Northern Affairs and Department of Fisheries-.-as well as by this Unit, have been collated to determine distribution of beluga in both western and eastern arctic, and 4ence most promising hunting areas. The results are shown in the maps (Figs. 1 and 2). In the western arctic, beluga are not greatly concentrated in summer in the estuarine water off the Mackenzie Delta and occur throughout Amundsen Gulf, probably wintering there also. Good whaling could be expected from Cape Parry in addition to present hunting sites. In the eastern arctic, concentrations in western Hudson Bay and upper Cumberland Sound are well known and have long been exploited. Another concentration in western Lancaster Sound should allow considerable increase in beluga hunting, if desired, from Resolute or from a new settlement at some location on Somerset Island. In other parts of Hudson Strait and Hudson Bay, stocks appear to be thinner and more liable to vary from season to season, but / / • Suramer Records of Beluga (June ;Aug )

Sightings Catches • 1 - 9 • 1-9 • 10 - 99 A 10- 99 • 100-

Fig. . Sùmmer records from Canadian sources'orl;;hite whale's in the Canadian' western arctic and adjoining Alaska. :.. -51-

VISCOUNT MELVILLE SOUND

Fig. 2.. Summer distribution and abundance of white whales in the Canadian eastern arctic. netting could be more extensively practised as a means of hunting, as indeed appears to be happening.

D. E. Sergeant - 53-

Biological Oceanography

No. 18 M.V.'Calanus Field Season • The 1961 cruise of M.V. Calanus took place in the area between Churchill and the eastern extremity of Frogen Strait, and covered the intervening waters of northwest Hudson Bay, Chesterfield Inlet, Roes Welcome Sound, Wager Bay, Repulse Bay and Duke of York Bay (Fig. 1). Forty-four station occupations involving oceanographic • sampling were made. In all, 325 plankton and 29 benthos . samples were taken, and data Were collected on water tem- perature (325 readings) and salinity (262), oxygen (295), phosphate (132) and nitrate (80) content in conjunction with biological sampling. Stations were between 5 and 354 metres deep, the first occupied on July 26 and the last on September 10. The coldest (-1.72°C) and deepest (35) m) water with the highest salinity (33.53°4 0 ) was found in the eastern part of Frozen Strait. A relatively shallow (not exceeding 100 m) constriction between west Frozen Strait and Repulse Bay contained water of 0.5 to -0.5°C with salinity between 32.48 and 32.77°/00 . Almost totally unstratified and in apparent violent motion, it appeared to consist of Frozen Strait water of various depths rendered more or less homogeneous by strong vertical mixing. Warmer water (0.73 to 1.80°C) of similar salinity 1.0 .V. ,oceariorrrnl,ihic station, 1961 - 55- was found in shallow (to about 60 m only) north Roes Welcome Sound. Density distribution across this passage suggested flow from the south on the warmer east side and from the north along the cooler west . side. Still shallow '

(to about 75 m only) . north-central Roes Welcome Sound, warmer (1.6 to 5.5°C) than the north section, showed otherwise similar characteristics. In south-central Roes Welcome Sound a greater range of temperature (about -1.0 to 6.50 C) and of salinity (31.7 to 33 )4°/ 00 ) than to the immediate north reflected deeper water (to about 115 m) continuous with the deep water of Hudson Bay. In south Roes Welcome Sound, similar to the section above but deeper (to about 140 m) there was again indication of northward water movement, from Hudson Bay, especially on the Southampton Island side. Northwest Hudson Bay water, with temperatures of -1.15 to more than 7°C, and salinity of less than 27 to 32.80 /0 ., showed warmer and less saline surface water than was found to the north and slightly warmer and less saline bottom water than was found in comparable depths in Frozen Strait. Wager Bay, separated from Roes Welcome Sound by a sill of the order of 35 m depth, was sampled to a depth of 120 m. The surface was

coldër and less saline, the bottom slightly colder than at the nearest station of comparable depth in Roes Welcome Sound. From the ihnermost station in Chesterfield Inlet to Hudson Bay there was a trend of slight lowering of

- 56-

surface:temperatue.from.the . innermost to the outermost Inlet station (from about 3.3*to 1.9°C),.then. an abrupt increase in.Hudson Bay itself.(to• 10)4°C). Bottom tem- peratures decréaSedsSlightly"towards the Bay within the Inlet, and were mùch. lawex-within Hudson Bay.: Salinity

. .at all.depths. increàsed towards the Bay, at the surface. • from•20 to 28°/.. outside the Inlet,.and at .the tottom * .'from 27.5 tà more than 32°/... .•, . • The timeS of occupations of stations in the • -various regions appear .to have coincided Closely . in most ' instanCes .with periods of maximum summer production. 'This • is concluded in part from the plankton and is supported.by other•measurements . Dissolved 'oxygen was at saturation

. ..level or. higher in the upper water layers of mOst stations ioccupied. .ReocCupation of 2 stations showed features of seasonal-change' in oxygen quantity. At the shalloW, 10.-m • . statiOn off Màrble.Island saturation values of 108 to - 125% •• in late.JUly were:replaced by values .of '95 to 94% in early' :September, . and' at a deeper station in South-central Roés Welcome-Sbund oxygen saturation was between 107 and 109% . in early. August,and between 99 and 102% on the first of SepteMber in the upper 50 m. ,At the first of thé stations

above.primary production figures deriVed 'from Carbon - 14. . . experiments denoted a rate' of 72 mg C/m2/day in late July 'and.of , only6 mg . C/m2/day in early September..., •- .Nearly all phoSphate - values were. between. 0.5 and -57-

at/l. Nitrate varied from 1.9 to 15.4,giat/l, and was lowest in, HudsOn Bay in late July and highest in Frozen Strait and Duke of York Bay in late August. Plankton samples consisted of 129 net collections and 196 quantitative phytoplankton collections. The north- west Hudson Bay area appears to support a relatively small quantity of zoOplankton, of the order of 75 mg/m3 during ' the, period of sampling (probably fairly close to the time of maximum standing crop). Considerably higher values, around 110 mg/m3 ,were found in the Roes Welcome-Frozen Strait region. This too is probably 'close to the maximum ' for the area. . •

E. H. Grainger

. No. 19 . Zooplankton of the Arctic Ocean and Adjacent Canadian waters Zooplankton collections made on Ice Island T-3. in the Arctic Ocean (by.Department of Mines and Technical Surveys) and in conjunction with the Polar Continental Shelf Project - (also of DM & TS) in waters adjacent to the Arctic Ocean, from about .95° to 125°W, have been studied. Twenty-foùr species were.named and others were identified to higher taxonomie level. . • Copepod's dominated the zooplankton,• especially the species Microcalanus pygmaeus and ,Oithona similis. • Calanussglacialis appeared for the Mostpart to reaàh . stage 111 only during the first summer of life., copepodite —adulthood.(stage 1M - probably not.being'attained until at .least theseCond.sumMeti.. It lis'. .doubtful.if'breeding Occurs befOre.the ahimals . are at least:2 years old, making this •one of thé most slawle deVeloping populations of copepods . so far desbribed in the. sea. The small M.• pygmaetis evidently :completes its cycle . within.a single year. . • • Within the collections there were no species • _endemic to the Arctic Ocean and .none:characteristig of Pacific waters. the copepods 1 . 82%'were Atlantic-Pacific and 18% were solely.Atlantic :species.: - .An analysià Of•availablelArctic Ocean.zoOplankton records. has eloWn good corrélation'between depth of speàies -occurrence and Aràtic Ocean water mass (Arctic Surface, H Atlantic and Arctic Deep) sampled. CharacteriStià "arctic" species are largely limited to the cold Surface water, more • widely ranging Atlantic .and Atlantic-PaCific species to the intermediate Atlantic layer:and species endemic-to the Arctic' ..Ocean to the Arctic Deep water.. Atlantic species are found' oVer alI:of the Arctic,OCéan, in gradually diminishing . number from the region adjacent tO the Atlantic towards the . :Chukehi Sea. Pacific species have appeared, SO far, only in.the-Chukchi - and west Beaufort Seas .and - immédiately,to the -north of there to near the pole._ The sparse planktOnic fauna of the relatively -59-

shallow. waters among the islands of the Canadian archipelago is essentially the same as that of the Surface water of the Arctic Ocean, reflecting outflow of this water to the south, and lacks almost entirely the many more species characteristic of the Atlantic water of the Arctic Ocean. Many of the species of the Atlantic layer, although absent in archipelago waters, are found in subarctic (Atlantic-influenced) regions to the south. Hence the archipelago waters support a fauna of few cold-water species largely as a result of their isola- tion from the Atlantic element of the Arctic Ocean, because of shallow depths and low temperatures, and from the Atlantic fauna to the south, because of their strong southward movement.

E. H. Grainger

• No. 20 Zooplankton of Baffin Bay, Davis Strait and the Newfoundland • Area • From'C.G.S. Labrador (DM & TS) 85 zooplankton collections werè aCquired from Davis Strait and Baffin Bay, and from C.N.A.V. Sackville and M.V. Vema (A.O.G.) 35 col- lections from. off Labrador and Newfoundland (Figs. 1 and 2). These, supplementing material received from both agencies in past years, provide extensive coverage of the upper 150 to 200 metres between Canada and Greenland and valuable specimens from the Labrador Sea area. •-• ig .1. é' -• 2 ‘e'1"- ‘- 'DM TSers (Labrador)'-stations, Davls Strait are Baffin Bay, 19 61

GREENL.AND , ) Fig. 2. /e).‘ AOG (Snoville.and Veme) plfinkton stations, 1961.

,...... )se.

,4?... gt

e

LABRADOR • Analysis : ofthese.collections has begun with a .study .of the :3 species'of the copepod genus Calanus which occur in the:area. To earlier Work on occurrence ofé.dult .étages only of C. glacialis:and C. finmarchicus has been - •added Study. of all copepodite stages of thoSe•speciesand of C. hyperboreus. - Thé material, it is ,expected, wili • permit definition of breeding limits Of' each of thé species, _determination of breeding.times and' rates of development .of. the species throughout the area concerned and . some 'ecological assessment-of the • pecies in terms of water masses inhabited by the various. young stages.

E. E. Grainger

No. 21 . • • ' Zooplankton of HtidSon Bay • - • • M.V.'Theta (DM & TS):collected 83 zooplankton

• samples from Hudson Bay during the summer of 1961, pro- viding the •first extensive zooplankton coverage of the waters or the central part of the bay. • Analysis ot the copepods has been started (Fig. 1).'

E. H. Grainger

No. 22 , •, lK.V. Calanuot Invertebrate Collections , A et4dy on the chaetognaths of the M.V. Calanus collectionshas been completed, and work on the'euphauside -63- - *...... i...... 4...... •• ■.... ...... ; . . . . • •

1-1.(3:b:Ij tOfulkton .i'1.1,1r1 non ri,ny o 1961 Fig . C0

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ter of the same collections is being continued. Bivalve molluscs and sea stars collected to date have been ' identified, and reports on both groups are nearing com- pletion. Decapod crustaceans have been sent to an outside expert for identification.

E. H. Grainger

• No. •23 The Effects of Food and Temperature on Zooplankton Growth, and the Adaptive Value of Vertical Migration A Mànuscript Report on the hydrography and zooplankton of Ogac Lake was finished for July 1961, and a more complete account of the population and production ecology of this marine microcosm must await collections planned for, the 1962 season. However, certain observations on the effect of temperature in Ogac Lake have led to an extensive review of literature on physiological rates, growth and fecundity as functions of temperature. From this a new theory has been developed, with considerable deductive and empirical support, that vertical migration is a device for increasing the rate of increase in ther- mally stratified waters. The results may prove'to be

fundamental for an adequate accounting of , secondary pro- duction in the sea. An empirical function devised in the 1930 1 s by Belehradek as V = a(T-Do%b -65-

gives a good description of the effect of temperature (T) • on experimentally adequate measurements of metabolic rate (V), and seems indisputably the function for the few suitable measurements of size of zooplankters and for the many accurate measurements of development rate in poikilo- therms. This function, which also seems to have a sound • biophysical basis ) has been misinterpreted or ignored by physiologists who, if they use any analytical functions, •continue to argue from chemical laws (simplified as Q10 in ' biology). Fecundity is an exponential function of size, •and therefore of temperature, and it is possible to express intrinsic rates of increase of widely different species of zooplankters as functions of temperature, when food is usufficient". It is assumed, as in the very general limit expression of the von Bertalanffy equation of grawth, that . adult size (and therefore fecundity) is set by the balance of anabolism and catabolism. Then the effects of anabolizing • in waters which average slightly warmer, as is done by

migrants which tend to feed near , the surface, can be deduced. Qualitatively this can be understood as ensuring efficient assimilation food at higher temperatures, and • efficient utilization of food at lower temperatures. Mathematically it can be shown that maintaining such a •temperature differential is disadvantageous early in •the season when surface temperatures are low, but increasingly advantageous when the waters warm up beyond a certain point. The fact that diurnal migration may cease altogether (the so-called seasonal migration) at the hoight of the hydro- graphic seadon, is explicable in the same terms. .The theory .Can explain numerous ontOgenetic, sys- -tematic and geographic regularitieS in the patterns of .

vertical migration, and also has the'advantage Of being able to:account for many.of.the confused and contradietory observations which fill the,literature. on vertical migration.

No. 2+ HaZen-lake. Studies A 'ManuScript on theplankton:biology of-Hazen Lake, Ellesmere Islandl-has- been.Completed. 'Samples-taken in 1961 :by (;■ther ',organizations' working there suggest that ;>

the : biennial cyCle.of'the copepod CyélobS scutife r. : which : was 'found_in 1957 (Nature, No . 47761 P. /74.,1961) was. the 'result of favourable ice conditions, :andthat the cycle may ordinarily.beeven longer. '.The 'population May: only. survive. in.nbad" years around theeargins Of the 'lake and in adjacent ponds, for - thedpen-water plankton seems . • . drastically reduced in 1961. In view of the uniqueness '-• • of : this situation,.and'recentsuggestions that.diapause may .beliossible for C. .sdUtifer, furthercollections' will ,be.' 7-

• made through other organizations working at Lake Hazen in the 1962 season.

I. A. McLaren

No. 25 fluIpplankton Studies Phytoplankton collections were received during the year from several sources. From Hudson Bay, M.V. Theta (DM & TS) took 228 samples, from Davis 'Strait and Baffin Bay C.G.S. Labrador (DM & 'TS) 258 samples, and from the waters of Labrador and Newfoundland C.N.A.V. Sackville (AOG) 76 samples and M.V. Vema (AOG) 8 samples. From M.V. Calanus 196 phytoplankton collections were acquired from Hudson Bay, Roes Welcome Sound, Frozen Strait and adjacent waters. Pre- liminary work on 35 quantitative stations from Hudson Bay and Roes Welcome Sound is already completed. Labrador and Newfoundland. Late August and Sep- tember phytoplankton collections from the east coast of Newfoundland and the Labrador Current included about 15 species of diatomsand dinoflagellates, some of which are new to science. A newly described species, Gvrocystodinium troDidoneis of the new genus Gvrocvstodinium, has its only relatives among freshwater dinoflagellates. It occurs as an epibiont on the frustules of the pennate diatom TroDidoneis sp. (a species closely related to T. antarctica fotind also in California). There is an outstanding contrast • between taxonomic composition and size of the phytoplankton populations in the Labrador Current and in the Canadian arctic. Large, active and still dividing populations of Tropidoneis are typical for the Labrador coast late in the autumn, when one would expect photosynthesis te have ceased. This was observed in Canadian arctic waters in September; during this month abundance of diatoms occurred occasionally at 50 metres depth, but these were only the so-called "sinking populations" of dormant Chaetoceros species containing many cysts and cells which had stopped their photosynthetic activities because of the winter period. Trobidoneis has never occurred in samples from the Canadian arctic; it is a northern néritic Atlantic diatom. Trobidoneis was abundant at many plankton stations in the Labrador Current and in Newfoundland waters; it was found in the surface water layers and at 50 metres depth where its maximum reached a density of 91,000 cells per litre. Nutritional value of this large diatom (exceeding 200 ) in length) is high because of the oil containing vitamins and a large volume of proto- plasm. This is unusual as at this time of the year little primary food material is available in the high arctic and subarctic regions. At this phase of my research on the productivity of phytoplankton I can consider Trobidoneis sp. a significant.factor in the high standard of fertility and productivity of the Labrador Current and Newfoundland waters. Recent identifications of both plankton diatoms and -69-

dinoflagellates show that some of them appear to be endemic within areas where they are often abundant. Some of these species are extremely rare in Hudson Bay and Foxe Basin and are considered as intruders from the Atlantic Ocean. Although their geographical distribution is still not precise, it is possible to consider this group of organisms as biological indicators for Atlantic water masses. Cytomorphology of toxic and nontoxic forms of Goniaulax tamarensis from New Brunswick, Canada and Tamar

• River Estuary, England. The popularity of G. tamarensis among biochemists and marine biologists increased after the discovery of its high toxicity by Medcof et al 1947, and Needler 1947. Previous separation of toxic and non- toxic.species of Gymnodinium from'Plymouth area, England by Ballantine 1956, encouraged me to try a similar separa- tion on the nontoxic forms from the Tamar River Estuary and St. Andrews, N.B. Prakash (1961) checked and confirmed Y: positively previous results on G. tamarensis. Thanks to his cultures it was possible to contrast both forms in January 1962 at St. Andrews Biological Station. Comparative study on both concerned forms of G. tamarensis revealed differences which may possibly originate in specific biophysical properties of the protoplasm resulting in structural differences. The abundance of morphological aberrants in the St. Andrews forms was not -70-

observed in young and old cultures of G. tamarensis from England. This particular character was easy to notice in '1 the cultures from the local phytoplankton samples of the *St. Andrews area. Introduced for the first time was the morphological analysis of the tiny sulcus plates which shows some differences between both forms of dinoflagellates. It appears that toxicity increases with the number of morphological aberrants, age of the cultures and their density. My own observations show that parallel to those features are morphological changes of the chromatophores leading to the formation of the "carotynoid bodies" in . which it is possible that toxins are stored. This and the .other observations have to be confirmed on living and fresh iphytoplankton samples. Morphogenetics of dinoflagellates. The formative ability of ectoplasm in situ and in isolation from the living cell is shown to be an autodynamic morphogenetic factor creating sui xeneris membrane structure in species. Heteromorphic division and formation of specific morpho- logical aberrants--which differ from the parent cell by characters which have been used to separate genera--may be primarily caused by molecular changes in the ectoplasm. The subpellicular vacuom reticulum in Gyrodinium and other genera originates possibly from the upset metabolism of the protoplasm. It is purely phenotypic. Oxygen deficiency - 71 -

induces in Prorocentrum endogenous cysts and dwarf-cell formation--a plasmolysis-like effect. The morphological norm in dinoflagellates is maintained also by the angle of nuclear fission and ensuing cystoplasmic disposition. It is constant in the sea and in culture in some species, almost constant in the sea but multivariable in culture in • other species. The static form in some species is related to a single method of division (Exuviaella marina). Poly- morphy of Exuviaella, Prorocentrum and other genera is induced by the presence of many types of divisions, which also favours the abundance of aberrants. u0smomorphoses" originate in critical salinity-temperature conditions owing •to flexibility of the pellicle in Gymnodinioldeae; it is prevented by the rigidity of the membrane in the thecate forms. "Cyclomorphoses", "phagomorphoses" and different aberrants are useful to complete classification in modern and fossil dinoflagellates since morphogenetic rules work regardless of time and space. A typescript on a unique species Kofoidinium ,X4W' arcticum was made ready for publication. It is an,oîeganism unlike other dinoflagellates. The arctic form ,tifilœn from Isachsen, on the Canadian Polar Shelf, is suffi#ently different to be described as a new speeies difiering from Kofoidinium found in the Mediterranean Sea and the tropical part of the Pacific Ocean.

A.: S. Bursa Date Due

LI":44 LI

BROCART, CO. Cat. No. 23-233-003 Printed in U.S.A.