Fisheries and Oceans Canada

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...

The Beluga whale critical habitat, which includes the Upper Estuary, the Saguenay River up to Sainte-Marguerite Bay, and the southern channel of the Lower Estuary, supports the vital functions of calving and rearing of the young. Due to the lack of information, studies are planned in the near...

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...