Management Plan for the BELUGA (Delphinapterus leucas) in Ontario Management plan prepared under the Endangered Species Act, 2007 June 2013 About the Ontario Management Plan Series This series presents the collection of management plans that are written for the Province of Ontario and contain possible approaches to manage species of special concern in Ontario. The Province ensures the preparation of the management plans meet its commitments to manage species of special concern under the Endangered Species Act, 2007 (ESA, 2007) and the Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk in Canada. What is a species of What’s next? special concern? Nine months after the completion of a management A species is classified as special concern if it lives plan a government response statement will be in the wild in Ontario, is not endangered or threat- published which summarizes the actions that the ened, but may become threatened or endangered Government of Ontario intends to take in response due to a combination of biological characteristics to the plan and the government priorities in taking and identified threats. those actions. The implementation of the management plan depends on the continued cooperation and What is a management plan? actions of various sectors, government agencies, communities, conservation organisations, land Under the ESA, 2007, a management plan identifies owners, and individuals. actions that could be taken to ensure, at a minimum, that a species of special concern does not become For more information threatened or endangered. The plan provides detailed information about the current species population and To learn more about species of special concern distribution, their habitat requirements and areas of in Ontario, please visit the Ministry of Natural vulnerability. The plan also identifies threats to the Resources Species at Risk webpage at: species and sets a clear goal, possible strategies, and www.ontario.ca/speciesatrisk prioritized activities needed to address the threats. Management plans are required to be prepared for species of special concern no later than five years of the species being added to the Species at Risk in Ontario list as a special concern species. COVER PHOTO CREDIT istockphoto.com Management Plan for the Beluga in Ontario RECOMMENDED CITATION Ted (E.R.) Armstrong 2013. Management Plan for the Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) in Ontario. Ontario Management Plan Series. Prepared for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Peterborough, Ontario. vi + 58 pp. Cover illustration: iStockPhoto.com © Queen’s Printer for Ontario, 2013 ISBN 978-1-4606-2028-1(PDF) Content (excluding the cover illustration) may be used without permission, with appropriate credit to the source. Cette publication hautement spécialisée «Management plans prepared under the Endangered Species Act, 2007 », n’est disponible qu’en anglais en vertu du Règlement 411/97 qui en exempte l’application de la Loi sur les services en français. Pour obtenir de l’aide en français, veuillez communiquer avec le ministère des Richesses naturelles au 1- 800-667-1940. i Management Plan for the Beluga in Ontario AUTHOR Ted (E.R.) Armstrong. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author wishes to acknowledge the advice and information generously and graciously provided by many people, including Dr. Ken Abraham (OMNR), Mr. Rod Brook (OMNR), Mr. Chris Chenier (OMNR), Dr. Vince Crichton (formerly with Manitoba Conservation & Water Stewardship), Mr. Chris Debicki (Oceans North Canada), Dr. Steve Ferguson (Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO)), Mr. Drikus Gissing (Nunavut Dept. of Environment), Mr. Steve Hookimaw (Attawapiskat), Mr. Mike Hunter (Peawanuck), Ms. Sandra Johnson (OMNR), Ms. Anna Magera (Nunavut Wildlife Management Board), Dr. Martyn Obbard (OMNR), Mr. Dean Phoenix (OMNR), Mr. Gerry Racey (OMNR), Dr. Pierre Richard (formerly with DFO), Mr. Don Sutherland (OMNR), Mr. Bill Watkins (Manitoba Conservation & Water Stewardship), Ms. Kristin Westdal (Oceans North Canada), Ms. Nancy Wilson (OMNR) and the OMNR Library. Ontario Nature provided permission to use a map (Fig. 2), Dr. Rob Foster (Northern Bioscience) assisted with production of a map (Fig. A-2) and Mr. Doug Lowman (OMNR) assisted with geographic name terminology. This plan benefitted substantially from a peer review by OMNR, DFO and the Nunavik Marine Region Wildlife Board. The assistance of all is gratefully acknowledged and appreciated. ii Management Plan for the Beluga in Ontario DECLARATION The management plan for the Beluga was developed in accordance with the requirements of the Endangered Species Act, 2007 (ESA). This management plan has been prepared for the Government of Ontario, other responsible jurisdictions and for the many different constituencies that may be involved in managing the species. The management plan does not necessarily represent the views of all of the individuals who contributed to its preparation, or the official positions of the organizations with which the individuals are associated. The goals, objectives and management approaches identified in the plan are based on the best available knowledge and are subject to revision as new information becomes available. Implementation of this plan is subject to appropriations, priorities and budgetary constraints of the participating jurisdictions and organizations. Success in the management of this species depends on the commitment and cooperation of many different constituencies that will be involved in implementing the directions set out in this plan. RESPONSIBLE JURISDICTIONS Ontario’s Beluga population forms part of the Western Hudson Bay Population and potentially part of the Eastern Hudson Bay Population, which are shared with Manitoba, Nunavut and Quebec. Jurisdictions and co-management agencies1 responsible for the conservation of this species and the management of activities that affect this species include: • Eeyou Marine Region Wildlife Board • Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO)2 • Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship • Nunavik Marine Region Wildlife Board 3 • Nunavut Wildlife Management Board 4 • Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) • Ressources naturelles Quebec Ontario’s formal jurisdictional responsibility is limited to the conservation of Beluga populations and habitat within the jurisdictional boundary of Ontario, which does not include the waters of Hudson Bay or James Bay. 1 Map of modern settled land claims areas in adjacent jurisdictions is shown in Figure A-1. 2 “In order to meet its mandate and the obligations under Inuit land claim settlements, DFO is adopting a cooperative approach to the management of marine mammals in the land claim settlement areas. Resource management boards, composed equally of Inuit and government representatives, have been established in accordance with the claim agreements. These resource boards assist DFO in varying degree, in jointly managing Canadian Arctic Beluga populations,” (DFO 2013b). 3 As of 2009, management of Beluga in Nunavik fell under the responsibility of the Nunavik Marine Wildlife Management Board (Doniol-Valcroze et al. 2011). 4 Nunavut Dept. of Environment advised that management of all marine mammals in Nunavut falls under the authority of DFO. The Government of Nunavut has no jurisdiction or responsibility for the management of this species except to support harvester rights (Drikus Gissing pers. comm. 2012). iii Management Plan for the Beluga in Ontario EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) is a species of small, toothed whale (Odontocete) of Hudson Bay, considered to be a species of special concern under the Endangered Species Act, 2007 in Ontario. This arctic and subarctic species migrates annually from its wintering grounds in the Hudson Strait and elsewhere in eastern Arctic Canada into Hudson Bay. During the summer it is distributed almost continuously along the Hudson Bay and James Bay coasts of Ontario, Manitoba and Quebec. Most of Ontario’s Beluga population is identified as belonging to the Western Hudson Bay Population. This is a large and relatively healthy population that numbers about 50,000 and stretches across the Hudson Bay coast of Ontario, Manitoba and southeastern Nunavut. It is considered by COSEWIC to be a species of special concern. The much smaller Eastern Hudson Bay Population summers along the Quebec coast of eastern Hudson Bay and is considered endangered by COSEWIC. James Bay, which has a healthy and apparently growing Beluga population, appears to be unique in that many of the whales overwinter in the bay. There is some uncertainty as to which population group to assign the James Bay Beluga. None of these populations have been formally listed under the federal Species at Risk Act. For the purposes of this plan, all Beluga in Ontario are assumed to be part of the Western Hudson Bay Population as designated by COSEWIC. River estuaries are very important summer habitat for Beluga. The whales rely on estuaries for a number of habitat functions which may include foraging, moulting and nursery habitat, thermal advantage and protection from predators. Beluga have high site fidelity to specific estuaries, and return to their place of birth (philopatric). This fidelity appears to be learned and passed down from generation to generation through matrilineal relationships. Because of these characteristics, it may be difficult to recover or re-establish local populations that are severely depleted or extirpated. While Beluga occur more or less continuously along the Hudson Bay and James Bay coasts