Fisheries and Oceans Canada

The endangered St. Lawrence Estuary (SLE) beluga population is in decline and has shown no signs of recovery despite multiple protection measures. Changes in prey availability and exposure to organohalogen contaminants have been proposed as potential factors limiting the its recovery. Studies on...

This layer represents the seasonal distribution of the St. Lawrence Estuary beluga whale population (Delphinapterus leucas). Three groups are represented: females with calf, adult males and mixed sectors. Herd distribution was defined using Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) published data about...

This layer represents the relative summer density of beluga calves in the St. Lawrence Estuary based on 35 aerial surveys carried out from 1990 to 2009. The boundaries of the areas were determined by combining the highest densities until the desired proportion of the population was obtained using...

This layer represents the relative summer density of belugas in the St. Lawrence Estuary based on 35 aerial surveys carried out from 1990 to 2009. The boundaries of the areas were determined by combining the highest densities until the desired proportion of the population was obtained using...

This layer represents the seasonal distribution of St. Lawrence Estuary beluga whale population (Delphinapterus leucas). Summer distribution is based on many surveys conducted between the end of August and early September. Fall and winter distributions are based on aerial surveys conducted during...

To identify areas of high residency, fine-scale tracking data from individual animals and coarser, short-term movement patterns of herds were analyzed. Individual radio-tracking was assessed from 2001 to 2005 and herd visual tracking was assessed from 1989 to 2008. Data was collected by two...