North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management

Sketch by Jean Craighead George FALL 2013 The Towline VOL 5 NO 2 From the Director is number one on our list, and this new esti- mate will help considerably with future quo- The 2011 bowhead whale census was the ta renewals. most successful ever conducted with full Although the spring whaling season was visual, acoustic and aerial coverage of the poor due to wind and ice conditions, 14 bowhead migration. After two years of in- bowhead whales were landed in Barrow, tensive analysis, the new 2011 abundance Point Hope, Gambell and Savoonga. Also, estimate for the Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort congratulations goes out to all of the whalers Seas stock of bowhead whales was present- on a great fall whaling season, with 30 bow- ed at IWC 2013 in Korea. The estimate is head whales landed so far in Barrow, 16,892 with a “margin of error” between Kaktovik, Nuiqsut 15,704 to 18,928 whales. This means the and Wainwright! stock continues to grow at about 3.7% an- Thanks to all of nually, which indicates that the health sta- the hunters for shar- tus of this population is very good. ing their successful Census coordinators, Craig George and harvests, making our Robert Suydam, and all of us at NSB- upcoming holidays a DWM thank the whaling community, festive celebration! AEWC, NSB, NOAA, BP and other enti- Quyanaq, ties who have supported our research over Taqulik Hepa the years. Maintaining the bowhead quota Marine Mammal Health Program Inside this issue: This summer Raphaela Stim- started much later than in the past. melmayr, staff and interns contin- As in 2012, there were a low num- Summer Study 2 ued to work successfully with hunt- ber of stranded carcasses observed Seal Tagging 2 ers in Barrow to examine subsist- for ice seals and walrus. ence harvested ice seals and walrus, Our ongoing examinations and Kids Page 3 and hunter-concern animals. Over- beach surveys are part of the Ma- SHELFZ 4 all, bearded and ringed seals were rine Mammal Health Program to in good condition, very healthy, establish baseline information Ocean Drifters 4 and showed no signs of the seal about our important subsistence Wildlife Interns 5 sickness observed in 2011. Subsist- species. A summary of our ongoing Mystic-Point ence harvested animals were aged, health investigations and prelimi- 5 sexed, measured, and organs and nary results will be presented to the Lay Exchange blood were sampled. Ice Seal Committee, and at the Summer Kids 6 Due to late break up, beach sur- NSB Fish and Game Management Fish Mold in 6 veys for stranded marine mammals Committee meeting this winter. Nuiqsut THE TOWLINE Page 2 Fish, Caribou, Snow Geese and Lemmings FISH Todd Sformo has been sur- CARIBOU Brian Person worked with veying fish species in North Salt Lincoln Parrett of ADF&G and de- Lagoon and Elson Lagoon using a ployed 41 GPS, satellite, and conven- fyke net for the last three sum- tional collars on Teshekpuk caribou to mers. This survey will help us bet- monitor the herds’ distribution and ter understand the number of spe- health. Near Inigok in late June, caribou cies present, size and age distribu- were captured with a hand-held net gun. tion, health status of the fish, and Currently, the herd is distributed in 3 the water temperature and salinity. groups: one near Wainwright, one near For 2013, over 5,000 fish were Fish/Judy Creeks, and one near Anaktu- caught and released with 14 spe- vuk Pass. It is likely they will maintain Yosty and Ryan tag a lemming cies identified, mostly least cisco this distribution throughout the winter. Captured lemmings are in- and fourhorn sculpin. Few para- SNOW GEESE Brian and others con- jected with tags that are used sites were observed, and fish ap- tinue to monitor the Snow Goose colo- for “mark-recapture” popu- pear to be healthy, which is com- ny on the Ikpikpuk Delta. About 60% lation estimates. There were parable to previous years. of these nests failed due to brown bear 41 lemming captures; 16 predation. In late July 1600 flightless lemmings were recaptures. geese were captured and fitted with met- These low lemming num- al leg bands to determine their survival bers agree with the low lem- rate and distribution. This is the largest, ming sightings by local resi- rapidly growing colony in western North dents and the biologists. We America. hope to continue this study LEMMINGS Ryan Klimstra and the long-term to better under- USFWS continued a lemming monitor- stand fluctuations in lem- Todd and Lynette measuring fish ing study near Barrow this summer. ming numbers. Satellite Tracking of Natchiq Andy Von Duyke, along with ployed failed after a short time; Billy Adams, Ryan Klimstra, despite the short life, they did pro- Bobby Sarren, Jordan Kippi, vide good data. After fixing a soft- and Isaac Leavitt, captured and ware defect in the SDRs, poor tagged three ringed seals near weather hampered capture efforts. Barrow. Two adult female seals On September 4th Ellis Pat- were caught in July and fitted kotak, responding to a community with satellite data recorders poster requesting assistance, (SDRs). The first two tags de- brought in a female ringed seal which had become entangled in his subsistence gill net. The seal Tracks of 2013 tagged ringed seals was fitted with an SDR and re- particular importance to hunters. leased near the boat ramp at Funded by the NSB-Shell Baseline Niksiuraq. This tag transmitted Studies Program since 2011, data until October 23rd. have been collected for a total of 39 Future efforts for this study in- seals. A major effort this winter will clude working out new methods be to analyze all data, including loca- for safely capturing seals in icy tions, dive depth and water tempera- conditions. Catching seals in late ture, and generate a report on im- winter/early spring will provide portant feeding areas for ringed seals information on the presence of a in the northeastern Chukchi and the Andy and Billy tagging Natchiq resident population, which is of western Beaufort Seas. Page 3 VOL 5 NO 2

Draw a line from the Iñupiat name to the English name for these Types of SNOW!

Agniqsuq Crystallized, bottom layer Did you know Aniquyyaq Dry Snow Blizzard that... Aniu Fresh Powder Snow Apun Hard, icy snow … snowflakes form by water freez- Auktuq Hard-packed Snow ing to dust particles in clouds. Irriqutit Long Snow Drift … the ice crystals in the clouds Masallak Low Blowing Snow grow and fall when they get large Natiġvik Melting Snow and heavy enough. Nutaġaq Snow Cover … snowflakes start out as 6-sided Piqsiqsuq Snow Flake shapes, or hexagonals. Pukak Snow House … after thawing and freezing, Qannik Snow/Ice Crystals in Air snowflakes change shape and meta- Qimuagruk Sticky, Snowball Snow morphose into “hoar” crystals. Siļļiq Wet Snow Blizzard … snow on lake or sea ice protects the ice from melting. Note: Iñupiat name spellings vary between regions. Reference: Apun, The Arctic Snow by Matthew Sturm … snow protects tundra plants from getting too cold in the winter.

… snow provides insulation for ani- mals living under the snow, like lemmings and insects. … caribou have large, wide hooves Go outside and find a snowflake! Draw a picture of your snowflake below. to help them travel on snow. How many sides does it have? Can you Answer this

Question?

What is the Iñupiaq name for the snow knives that are used to make snow shelters?

Email [email protected] with your answer. First person with correct answer will be acknowledged on our website!

Check our website for the correct answers! Go to www.north-slope.org/departments/wildlife/dwm_newsletters.php THE TOWLINE Page 4 SHELFZ—Shelf Habitat and EcoLogy of Fish and Zooplankton Leandra de Sousa, along with NOAA, UAF, and University of Washington, funded by CIAP, collected baseline data on the habitat, abundance, distribution and species composition of fish and zooplankton in the Chukchi Sea between Barrow and Wainwright from August 17th to September 6th at 61 different stations. Near shore work included beach seining while offshore work utilized bottom and mid-water trawls for fish and for zooplankton (like krill). Salinity and temperature were collected using a CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth) sensor. The cruise went well and preliminary results were distributed to North Slope communities during the cruises. A more detailed report will follow later in 2014 after data are analyzed. Map of the study area showing sampling locations This information will help us to better under- cies and any feeding “hot spots” of high prey density. stand the available forage for marine mammals. The results will be used to help make informed deci- We hope to identify the availability of prey spe- sions regarding offshore-related activities. Surface Ocean Drifters Surface ocean drifters were deployed off of Wainwright and Barrow in 2012 to help us better understand the near shore surface cur- rents. The project, funded by the NSB/Shell Baseline Studies Program, continued this summer of 2013 with ocean drifters de- Wainwright drifter tracks as of ployed off of Point Lay and Wainwright. Point Lay drifter tracks by August 30 (above) August 30 (above) and and by October 22 (below) Billy Adams, Robert Suydam, Willard by October 22 (below) Neakok and Warren Lampe deployed 13 drogue drifters and 3 surface drifters near Point Lay on August 17th, 4 miles out and 8 miles out. Billy Adams, Harris Aguvluk and Billy Sielak deployed 26 drogue drifters and 3 surface drifters 8 miles out of Wainwright on August 23rd. The maps tell the story. The green balloons are deployment sites, and the turquoise balloons are drifter locations.

Hunters supplied boats and deployed drifters: Billy Sielak, Willard Neakok, Warren Lampe and Harris Aguvluk Page 5 VOL 5 NO 2 Wildlife Interns! We had two interns funded by ANSEP, the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Pro- The summer of 2013 was very gram, Shaylyn “Yosty” Storms of Unalakleet, busy for our Wildlife Interns. Environmental Science major at UAA, and Ianjon Brower, math major at Jesstin Patterson of Barrow, Engineering stu- UAF, helped with our fish study dent at UAF. These interns learned more and polar bear hair project. about our bowhead research and participated Roberta Glenn, Cal-Poly stu- in other projects as well. We hope to support dent transferring to UAA, more NSB ANSEP students in the future! ANSEP Interns Yosty helped with caribou surveys as Two of our interns recently graduated from Storms & Jesstin Patterson well as many other projects. BHS, Elmer Thompson, Jr., and Lynette If you are an NSB col- Donald “Gunnar” Carroll, Hepa. We are hoping their experiences with us lege student and inter- Iļisaġvik student, assisted with will encourage them to study science or a re- ested in wildlife biology, the lemming trapping study and lated field, and to pursue a career in wildlife contact us about work- other projects. biology or wildlife veterinary science! ing with us as an intern! Wildlife Interns Ianjon Brower, Roberta Glenn, Gunnar Carroll, Elmer Thompson and Lynette Hepa

Mashantucket Pequot Students to Point Lay On the way back to Connecti- cut, they were able to take a trip NSB-DWM and Mystic Aquari- reservation to Point Lay. to Point Barrow, visit the IHC um in Connecticut have worked While in Point Lay, the visitors museum and meet with Mayor together to bring students from toured the village, saw bearded Brower. Many friendships were Point Lay to Mystic in an Educa- seal and walrus butchering, walked forged and lifelong connections tional Exchange to “follow the be- along the barrier island on the made during their visit. We hope luga samples” that are collected Chukchi Sea, entered the Fourth to be able to continue these ex- during the summer beluga hunt of July parade and enjoyed festivi- changes between the North Slope back to the laboratory. Robert ties. They assisted biologists with and Connecticut into the future, Suydam works with Tracy Romano beluga sampling, and participated building on the common link of of Mystic to study the health of in the community butchering of whaling, past and present. the beluga. At the Aquarium stu- the successful beluga harvest. dents learn more about beluga health and about other animals. They also learn about “city life,” the east coast environment, and they interact with the local Mashantucket Pequot tribe. This cultural exchange has only been one-way for the last three years, until this July. Mashantucket Pequot students Ashanti Kelly, Bri- anna and Shaquanna Sebastian, with chaperones Crissy Gray and Brianna, Shaquanna, Robert Lisbourne and Timmothy Ferreira of Point Jason Mancini, traveled from their Lay, Jason, Crissy and Ashanti waiting to return home THE TOWLINE Page 6

Presorted North Slope Borough S t a n d a r d Department of Wildlife Management U.S. Postage P A I D P.O. Box 69, Barrow, Alaska 99723 Fairbanks, Alaska Phone: (907) 852-0350 Fax: (907) 852-0351 GRAPHIC NORTH, INC. www..north-slope.org/departments/wildlife/

Director: Taqulik Hepa Deputy Director: Harry Brower, Jr. ECRWSS BOXHOLDER

Check out our NSB We thank the NSB Assembly and Mayor Brower Become an NSB-DWM DWM website! for their continued support. Quyanaqpak! Facebook Fan! Summer with Kids! This past summer we talked with lots of North Slope kids! In July, we walked the middle lagoon boardwalk with Tuzzy Library Kids and the City of Barrow Summer Camp, looking at birds and flowers, and scooping up critters in the water. In August, the DWM hosted the Qaunakkutiniq Thursday with a walk on the beach, seine netting, and healthy snacks of Kobe Panigeo, Andrea Spicer, Sadie Brower, and Corey niġliq soup, donuts, sandwiches and apples. Tuzroyluke working on the Fish Study The last week of July, NSB-DWM held the Arctic and a necropsy, among other things. We hope our Science Research Summer Camp at Iļisaġvik College camp sparks interest in the students to become for 9th-12th graders. We had five students participate wildlife biologists. from Barrow and Point Hope. Students learned about If you are interested in a talk to students or com- our research projects and participated in field work munity members about wildlife, please contact us! Mold on Aanaakłiq in Nuiqsut Residents of Nuiqsut informed DWM in early October of unusual growth on aanaakłiq (broad whitefish) and were concerned about fish health, whether edible, and if this was related to industrial pollution. Billy Adams and Todd Fish with water mold caught near Nuiqsut in October Sformo collected fish and water samples. The dous help in securing samples and information allowing lab results indicate normal water chemistry with for a quick response. We are working with fish and mold no detection of “diesel-type” contaminants. experts to devise sampling/study plans for break-up, the The Alaska State Fish Pathology Lab and the summer and spawning season. USGS Western Fisheries Research Center iden- Local fishermen have seen no evidence of mold on tified the growth as Sarprolegnia, a water mold qaaktaq (arctic cisco) or other whitefish. The qaaktaq fish- that is known to affect fish. There is no risk to ery is underway and we are making every effort to moni- human health; however, we encourage fisher- tor fish for mold. men to maintain their traditional and customary Should you find an unusual fish, please contact us at practices and not eat fish they feel are not 907-852-0350. If possible, keep samples cold but not fro- healthy. zen, and provide us with this information: number of fish The NSB-DWM continues to work with local affected, number of normal-looking fish, location and residents in Nuiqsut who have been a tremen- date caught, and any photos taken.