Northern Bottlenose Whale Hyperoodon Ampullatus
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COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the Northern Bottlenose Whale Hyperoodon ampullatus Davis Strait-Baffin Bay-Labrador Sea population Scotian Shelf population in Canada Davis Strait-Baffin Bay-Labrador Sea population - SPECIAL CONCERN Scotian Shelf population - ENDANGERED 2011 COSEWIC status reports are working documents used in assigning the status of wildlife species suspected of being at risk. This report may be cited as follows: COSEWIC. 2011. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the Northern Bottlenose Whale Hyperoodon ampullatus in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. xii + 31 pp. (www.sararegistry.gc.ca/status/status_e.cfm). Previous report(s): COSEWIC 2002. COSEWIC assessment and update status report on the Northern Bottlenose Whale Hyperoodon ampullatus (Scotian shelf population) in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vi + 22 pp. Whitehead, H., A. Faucher, S. Gowans, and S. McCarrey. 1996. Update COSEWIC status report on the Northern Bottlenose Whale Hyperoodon ampullatus (Gully population) in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. 1-22 pp. Reeves, RR., and E. Mitchel. 1993. COSEWIC status report on the Northern Bottlenose Whale Hyperoodon ampullatus, in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, Ottawa. 16 pp. Production note: COSEWIC would like to acknowledge Hal Whitehead and Tonya Wimmer for writing the status report on the Northern Bottlenose Whale Hyperoodon ampullatus, in Canada, prepared under contract with Environment Canada. This report was overseen and edited by Randall Reeves, Co-chair of the COSEWIC Marine Mammals Specialist Subcommittee. For additional copies contact: COSEWIC Secretariat c/o Canadian Wildlife Service Environment Canada Ottawa, ON K1A 0H3 Tel.: 819-953-3215 Fax: 819-994-3684 E-mail: COSEWIC/[email protected] http://www.cosewic.gc.ca Également disponible en français sous le titre Ếvaluation et Rapport de situation du COSEPAC sur la baleine à bec commune (Hyperoodon ampullatus) au Canada. Cover illustration/photo: H. Whitehead lab. Northern Bottlenose Whale — Hal Whitehead lab. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2011. Catalogue No. CW69-14/77-2011E-PDF ISBN 978-1-100-18675-7 Recycled paper COSEWIC Assessment Summary Assessment Summary – May 2011 Common name Northern Bottlenose Whale - Davis Strait-Baffin Bay-Labrador Sea population Scientific name Hyperoodon ampullatus Status Special Concern Reason for designation The population is of Special Concern for the following reasons: (1) numbers were likely reduced by whaling in the late 1960s and early 1970s when 818 whales were taken; (2) trends in population size since then are uncertain but survey sighting rates have been low; and (3) threats from fishery interactions are documented and ongoing. There is no abundance estimate. Entanglement in fishing gear is the primary known threat but noise and contaminants are also of concern. The whales in the Baffin Bay-Davis Strait-Labrador Sea region have been genetically linked to the population off Iceland so rescue is possible. Occurrence Atlantic Ocean Status history The Northern Bottlenose Whale was given a single designation of Not at Risk in April 1993. Split into two populations in April 1996 to allow a separate designation of the Northern Bottlenose Whale (Scotian Shelf population). The Davis Strait-Baffin Bay-Labrador Sea population was not assessed in 1996; it retained the Not at Risk designation of the original Northern Bottlenose Whale. The population was designated Special Concern in May 2011. Assessment Summary – May 2011 Common name Northern Bottlenose Whale - Scotian Shelf population Scientific name Hyperoodon ampullatus Status Endangered Reason for designation This well-studied population contains an estimated 164 individuals, of which approximately 93 are mature. The population appears to be stable but it is very small and at risk from entanglement in fishing gear and possibly also from anthropogenic noise produced by seismic surveys for oil and gas and from exposure to contaminants. Occurrence Atlantic Ocean Status history The Northern Bottlenose Whale was given a single designation of Not at Risk in April 1993. Split into two populations in April 1996 to allow a separate designation of the Northern Bottlenose Whale (Scotian Shelf population). Scotian Shelf population designated Special Concern in April 1996. Status re-examined and designated Endangered in November 2002 and in May 2011. iii COSEWIC Executive Summary Northern Bottlenose Whale Hyperoodon ampullatus Davis Strait-Baffin Bay-Labrador Sea population Scotian Shelf population Wildlife species description and significance The Northern Bottlenose Whale, Hyperoodon ampullatus, is a beaked whale found only in the northern North Atlantic. It is a sturdy, medium-sized (7-9m) whale, dolphin- like in appearance, with a beak and falcate dorsal fin, but much larger than most dolphins. A substantial part of the total range of the Northern Bottlenose Whale lies in Canadian waters. The species is among the deepest and most prolonged divers of all mammals and is known for its tendency to approach vessels. The animals off the Scotian Shelf are the subjects of the most detailed research on any living species of beaked whale. Distribution Northern Bottlenose Whales are found in deep (>500m) waters of the northern North Atlantic, north of about 40oN. There are five recognized areas of concentration, three in the eastern Atlantic, Iceland, Svalbard, and off mainland Norway, and two in Canadian waters, along the edge of the Scotian Shelf and off Labrador, including southern Baffin Bay. The Baffin Bay-Davis Strait-Labrador Sea and Scotian Shelf populations are genetically distinct. The Scotian Shelf animals are generally smaller, may breed later in the year, and have higher pollutant loads than those in the Baffin Bay-Davis Strait- Labrador Sea population. Movement between the two populations seems to be very rare. iv Habitat Northern Bottlenose Whales occur primarily in continental slope waters 800- 1,500m deep. The whales of the Scotian Shelf edge depend heavily on three locations, the large submarine canyons called the Gully, Shortland Canyon and Haldimand Canyon. Biology Males become sexually mature at 7-9 years old and females at 8-13, thereafter giving birth to single offspring about every two years. The life span is at least 37 years, and the generation time is about 15.5 years. The Scotian Shelf population does not seem to migrate. Movements by whales of the Baffin Bay-Davis Strait-Labrador Sea population have not been studied. While Northern Bottlenose Whales eat various deep-water fishes and squids, they are specialists compared with other deep-diving mammals, particularly favouring squids of the genus Gonatus. Population sizes and trends The Scotian Shelf population contains approximately 164 adult and immature animals, and has shown no statistically significant trend in population size between 1988 and 2009. There is no estimate of the size of the Baffin Bay-Davis Strait-Labrador Sea population. In 1962-1967 whaling operations took 87 animals from the Scotian Shelf population, and in 1969-1971 whalers took 818 from the Baffin Bay-Davis Strait- Labrador Sea population. Threats and limiting factors Northern Bottlenose Whales in Canadian waters face two principal threats, entanglement in fishing gear and ocean noise. In both cases the threat is actual, but the extent of harm is uncertain. There are also concerns about contaminant levels in whale tissues, possibly related to oil and gas development activities. Protection, status, and ranks The Northern Bottlenose Whale is listed as a “Protected Species” by the International Whaling Commission with a catch limit of zero. The species is in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and it is considered Data Deficient by IUCN. There is currently no regular hunt for Bottlenose Whales. v In Canada, hunting and other activities deliberately harmful to Northern Bottlenose Whales are covered by the Marine Mammal Regulations of the Fisheries Act. The Scotian Shelf population was listed as Endangered by COSEWIC in 2002 and was listed under Schedule 1 of SARA in April 2006. The Baffin Bay-Davis Strait-Labrador Sea population was implicitly considered “not at risk” when the species as a whole was assessed by COSEWIC in 1993. The Gully was designated as a marine protected area in 2004 under the Oceans Act, with the core area of the protected area coinciding with the principal habitat of the Scotian Shelf Northern Bottlenose Whales. The remaining habitat of Northern Bottlenose Whales in Canada has no special protection. vi TECHNICAL SUMMARY (Davis Strait-Baffin Bay-Labrador Sea population) Hyperoodon ampullatus Northern Bottlenose Whale Baleine à bec commune (Davis Strait-Baffin Bay-Labrador Sea population) (Population du détroit de Davis, de la baie de Baffin et de la mer du Labrador) Range of occurrence in Canada: Atlantic Ocean (off Newfoundland and Labrador, Nunavut) Demographic Information Generation time (see text) 15.5 years Is there a continuing decline in number of mature individuals? Unknown Estimated percent of continuing decline in total number of mature individuals - within 5 years or 2 generations Observed, estimated, inferred, or suspected percent reduction or increase in Unknown total number of mature individuals over the last 10 years, or 3 generations Projected or suspected