List of Wildlife Species at Risk (Decisions Not to Add Certain Species) Order — List of Wildlife Species at Risk (Decisions Not to Add Certain Species) Order
Beluga Whale ( Delphinapterus leucas ) (Eastern High Arctic and Baffin Bay population) The Minister of the Environment has recommended, on the advice of the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, that the Beluga Whale (Eastern High Arctic and Baffin Bay population) not be added to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk (the “List”) set out in Schedule 1 to the Species at Risk Act (“SARA”). The Eastern High Arctic and Baffin Bay population of Beluga Whale, which spends its winter in the Jones Sound – North Water polynya area, does not appear to be adversely affected by exploitation or subject to any other negative anthropogenic impacts. Possible overexploitation outside of Canadian waters is viewed as a concern for this population which winter in this area. Although commercial fisheries for Greenland halibut ( Reinhardtius hippoglossoides ) and pink shrimp ( Pandalus borealis ) take place in the area occupied by this population in the winter, potentially harmful effects of competition between fisheries for resources have not yet been studied. In May 2004, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (“COSEWIC”) assessed this Beluga Whale (Eastern High Arctic and Baffin Bay population) and classified it as a species of special concern. The benefits of listing the species would be limited. Listing the Beluga Whale (Eastern High Arctic and Baffin Bay population) as special concern would require the preparation of a SARA management plan. As there are no known threats in Canadian waters, this management plan would have a limited impact on the population and would be unable to address harvesting issues outside Canada. Furthermore, the management plan would not change the level of harvest in Canadian waters (approximately 100 belugas of this population per year). By not listing the species, no impacts are anticipated for the Inuit populations, general population in Canada, industry or government. There is limited evidence to support listing the Beluga Whale (Eastern High Arctic and Baffin Bay population) as a species of special concern since the population is only lightly harvested in Canada and there is no evidence of any anthropogenic threats on the Eastern High Arctic and Baffin Bay population of Beluga Whale or its habitat in Canadian waters. Listing the Beluga Whale (Eastern High Arctic and Baffin Bay population) would not address hunting outside Canadian waters. As well, the Canada/Greenland Joint Commission on the Conservation and Management of Narwhal and Beluga concluded in 2009 that the Canadian population is healthy, and that population modeling of the Greenland portion of the beluga stock (following the reduction in quotas after 2004) suggests a reversal of the previous stock decline. Management and harvesting of the Eastern High Arctic and Baffin Bay population of Beluga Whale will continue to be regulated by the Marine Mammal Regulations enacted under the Fisheries Act . Further, the day-to-day management and conservation of this population falls under the scope of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement and the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board established under that Agreement. The joint wildlife management system is governed by and implements principles of conservation. Fisheries and Oceans Canada (“DFO”) will continue to discuss with its international partners issues related to sustainable hunt management and scientific information needed for stock assessment of marine mammal populations that are found inside and outside Canadian waters. Under SARA, COSEWIC reviews the status of a species at risk as new information becomes available which might cause it to adjust its assessment of the species. DFO will consider any new information that will be reviewed by COSEWIC as part of its next assessment of the Beluga Whale (Eastern High Arctic and Baffin Bay population).