Harvest of Sea Ducks in North America*
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CHAPTER TWELVE Harvest of Sea Ducks in North America* A CONTEMPORARY SUMMARY Thomas C. Rothe, Paul I. Padding, Liliana C. Naves, and Gregory J. Robertson Abstract. Sea ducks present unique challenges to and bag limits in primary coastal hunting areas. waterfowl harvest management because the species With a few exceptions, harvest of widely distrib- have relatively low intrinsic population growth uted species and most species along the Pacific rates and varied population structure and harvest Coast is considered sustainable. Common Eider occurs under a diversity of rangewide hunting tra- harvest in the Atlantic Flyway is a management ditions. Sea duck harvest occurs throughout North concern given fluctuations in eider populations, America, ranging from inland harvest of widely high harvest pressure, and the presence of two distributed species, such as goldeneyes and mer- subspecies. Sea ducks are important subsistence gansers, to specialized harvest of eiders and scoters resources in the North; eiders are harvested by in coastal and northern regions. Harvest of widely coastal communities and scoters by inland com- distributed species is well represented in continen- munities. Harvest estimates are now available for tal waterfowl harvest monitoring programs. More most northern jurisdictions, and management is localized harvests, such as those in coastal and undertaken in cooperation with First Nations and remote areas, have proven challenging to monitor, Inuit organizations in Canada and subsistence and some special surveys have been implemented. management bodies in Alaska. Additional infor- Sea duck harvest regulations have evolved over mation on the delineation and demography of sea the decades according to changes in population duck populations is essential, along with improved levels, management philosophies, and improve- harvest estimation techniques, to inform collabor- ments in harvest information. Hunting of golden- ative harvest management and to ensure sustain- eyes and Buffleheads has usually been regulated able harvest. within general bag limits for ducks. Regulations for large mergansers have been liberal, but limits Key Words: age ratio, bag limit, eiders, egg col- for Hooded Mergansers have remained conserva- lecting, ethnotaxonomy, harvest management, tive. Harvest regulations for eiders, scoters, Long- harvest surveys, HIP surveys, hunting seasons, tailed Ducks, and Harlequin Ducks have recently regulations, scoters, sex ratio, subsistence harvest, become more restrictive, subject to special seasons wing survey, wounding losses. * Rothe, T. C., P. I. Padding, L. C. Naves, and G. J. Robertson. 2015. Harvest of sea ducks in North America: A contemporary summary. Pp. 417–467 in J.-P. L. Savard, D. V. Derksen, D. Esler, and J. M. Eadie (editors). Ecology and conservation of North American sea ducks. Studies in Avian Biology (no. 46), CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. 419 arvest management of sea duck popula- in harvest regulations, especially those affecting tions has focused on concerns that sea duck harvest of adult females, can provide survival ben- Hrecruitment is lower than in other taxa efits to improve population trajectories (Gilliland of ducks and that the effects of harvest may be et al. 2009, Merkel 2010). However, if the limiting largely additive and density independent (Goudie factors are primarily related to productivity, con- et al. 1994). Since harvest can be regulated, bag ventional regulatory prescriptions for managing limits and seasons should be conservative as a pri- harvest may have to be applied over many years mary means of sustaining populations (Chapter 3, and may have little effect on population dynamics. this volume). In contrast, the tone of popular Our objectives in this chapter are to provide (1) sporting literature often emphasizes opportuni- a synopsis of harvest management authorities and ties to harvest exotic species of sea ducks during sources of harvest information, (2) an overview of late seasons, under relatively liberal bag limits, sea duck harvesting traditions and regulation his- and that sea ducks are an underutilized resource tory along the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts and in the (Gillilan 1988). The divergent viewpoints high- northern regions where hunting of sea ducks is most light the need for research into the role of harvest prevalent, and (3) a summary of the magnitude and in population dynamics so managers can develop composition of sea duck harvest in North America. appropriate harvest strategies. Ideally, the influence of harvest on sea duck HARVEST MANAGEMENT AUTHORITIES populations ought to be assessed in the context of comprehensive population models driven by reli- Regulation of waterfowl hunting has largely been able parameter datasets. Recent attention to declines a responsibility of the federal governments in the in sea ducks has stimulated the development of United States and Canada, particularly after rati- models for some populations (Krementz et al. 1997, fication of the 1916 Migratory Bird Convention Gilliland et al. 2009, Schamber et al. 2009, Iverson (Treaty) between the United States and Great and Esler 2010, Bentzen and Powell 2012, Wilson Britain (for Canada) for the Protection of Migratory et al. 2012). However, most sea duck populations Birds. The treaty established a framework to pro- are poorly defined and have not been investigated tect shared bird populations by actions includ- with harvest models, in part because data on demo- ing regulation of hunting. Both the United States graphic parameters are often scarce or inadequate. and Canada codified the treaty in federal laws: For most sea duck species, harvest assessment is in the United States as the Migratory Bird Treaty constrained by the lack of critical information on Act of 1918 and in Canada as the Migratory Birds (1) population structure and delineation of cohe- Convention Act of 1917. The concept of manag- sive and manageable population units; (2) appro- ing waterfowl on the basis of migratory corridors priate geographic management scales; (3) seasonal or flyways was developed in the 1940s and for- ranges, migration patterns, and fidelity to sites; and mally established in 1952. Since then, waterfowl (4) reliable estimates of population size, produc- hunting framework regulations in the United Downloaded by [Liliana Naves] at 09:39 06 July 2015 tivity, and sources of nonhunting mortality (Sea States have been developed annually through Duck Joint Venture Management Board 2008, Sea consultation between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Duck Joint Venture 2013). In addition, major chal- Service (USFWS) and state wildlife agencies asso- lenges exist for documenting hunter participation ciated with four Flyway Councils. Hunting rules and activity, the size and composition of harvest, are implemented through state regulations that and the rangewide distribution of harvest. In light are at least as restrictive as federal frameworks. of these uncertainties, it is challenging to design In Canada, the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) and implement appropriate harvest management consults with the provincial and territorial wild- actions, particularly for populations with declining life agencies to develop final waterfowl hunting or unknown trends in bird numbers. Identifying the regulations, which are then established in fed- information required to guide harvest management eral law. The federal regulatory processes in the has been identified as a priority for the Sea Duck United States and Canada remain separate, but Joint Venture (2013), which has initiated efforts to representatives of the Canadian provinces, terri- evaluate harvest potential of several populations. tories, and federal agencies collaborate with the There is no question that in situations where mor- Flyway Councils to exchange information and tality is a limiting factor for a population changes develop cooperative management programs. 420 STUDIES IN AVIAN BIOLOGY NO. 46 Savard, Derksen, Esler, and Eadie SURVEYS TO ASSESS FALL–WINTER HARVEST required to buy a federal duck stamp, which is valid for one year. A sample of duck stamp pur- The main sources of information on hunter activ- chasers were asked to document their waterfowl ity in fall and winter and sea duck harvest are hunting activity and harvest throughout the hunt- national surveys that the USFWS and the CWS ing season and report it on a survey form (Martin have conducted for decades. Sample frames, strati- and Carney 1977). fication, sampling procedures, data collection, and Initially, hunters were asked to report duck analytical methods have been described in detail and goose harvest by species, but it soon became elsewhere (Martin and Carney 1977, Cooch et al. apparent that some hunters were unable to 1978, Geissler 1990, Padding et al. 2006a, Johnson identify species. To address this problem, the et al. 2012). Here, we focus on aspects of those Waterfowl Parts Collection Survey (hereafter, surveys that specifically address sea ducks. Some wing survey) was developed to allow identifi- US states have conducted other sea duck harvest cation of the species, sex, and age of harvested surveys, and their results allow comparisons with ducks based on wing plumage (Carney 1984). A the USFWS survey that we will examine. modified harvest survey form asked about hunt- Traditional surveys have not covered a large ing and harvest of general waterfowl categories portion of North American harvest of sea ducks, (ducks, sea ducks, and geese) rather than species, namely, subsistence harvest