Beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas), St. Lawrence Estuary population, recovery strategy: chapter 1

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Lists of tables, figures and acronyms

List of Tables

• Table 1. Causes of mortality in stranded and necropsied belugas of the St. Lawrence from 1983 to
  2006 (n=175) (Database of the Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre)
• Table 2. Summary of threats to the recovery of the St. Lawrence beluga
• Table 3. Recovery Planning Table for the St. Lawrence beluga
• Table 4. Essential functions, features and attributes of critical habitat for the St. Lawrence beluga.
• Table 5. Schedule of studies
• Table 6. Examples of activities likely to destroy critical habitat

List of figures

• Figure 1. Global distribution of belugas (adapted from Reeves, 1990). Belugas are found in the waters of Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Norway, and Russia.
• Figure 2. Location of the seven Canadian beluga populations. 1) St. Lawrence Estuary population; 2) Ungava Bay population; 3) Eastern Hudson Bay population; 4) Western Hudson Bay population; 5) Eastern High Arctic and Baffin Bay population; 6) Cumberland Sound population; 7) Eastern Beaufort Sea population. Adapted from COSEWIC, 2004. In grey is the distribution area and in black are the main summering areas.
• Figure 3. Historic distribution area of the St. Lawrence beluga, adapted from Vladykov, 1944. The area covered in summer extended east along the North Shore to Natashquan and along the south shore to Grande-Vallée. The total distribution area extended to Québec and south of the Gaspé Peninsula.
• Figure 4. Present distribution area of the St. Lawrence beluga, adapted from Michaud, 1993a. The summer distribution area extends from Saint-Jean-Port-Joli to Forestville, including the Saguenay River up to Saint-Fulgence, and the total distribution area extends to Sept-Îles.
• Figure 5. Population estimates for the St. Lawrence beluga from 1988 to 2005, corrected index and standard error (adapted from Gosselin et al., 2007). The population increased slightly, but not statistically significantly, from 900 whales in 1988 to just over 1,200 in 2005.
• Figure 6. Summer distribution of St. Lawrence belugas by herd composition, adapted from Michaud (1993a). Herds of adults with young are found around Île aux Coudres, Îles de Kamouraska, Rivière-du-Loup, and Saint-Siméon. Herds of adults only are found in the Laurentian channel off Les Escoumins. Mixed herds are found in the Saguenay River, the head of the Laurentian channel and southern portion of the estuary. Inset: the location of the sector in Quebec.
• Figure 7. Map of the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park and the two proposed marine protected areas (MPAs), the proposed Manicouagan marine protected area and the proposed St. Lawrence Estuary Marine Protected Area. Inset: the location of the sector in Quebec.
• Figure 8. Time to meet the population objective of 7070 individuals at the current growth rate of approximately 1% and at the theoretical maximum rate of 4% (M. Hammill, DFO, unpublished data).
• Figure 9. Critical habitat of the St. Lawrence beluga. It extends from the Battures aux Loups Marins to the southern portion of the Estuary, off Saint-Simon. It includes the lower reaches of the Saguenay River. Inset: the location of the sector in Quebec.

List of acronyms

BAPE

Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement

CITES

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna

COSEWIC

Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada

CPs

Chlorinated paraffins

DDE

Dichlorodiphenylethane

DDD

Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane

DDT

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane

DFO

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

EC

Environment Canada

EQA

Environment Quality Act

GREMM

Groupe de recherche et d'éducation sur les mammifères marins

HCB

Hexachlorobenzene

HCH

Hexachlorocyclohexane

HSP

Habitat Stewardship Program

IARC

International Agency for Research on Cancer

IPCS

International Program on Chemical Safety

IJC

International Joint Commission

MLOA

Marine life observation activities

MPA

Marine Protection Area

NRC

National Research Council

OC

Organochlorine compounds

PAEQ

Programme d'assainissement des eaux du Québec

PAHs

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

PCBs

Polychlorinated biphenyls

PBDEs

Polybrominated diphenylethers

PFCs

Perfluorinated compounds

PFOS

Perfluorooctane sulphonate

PIZ

Priority Intervention Zone

POP

Persistent organic pollutant

QMMERN

Quebec Marine Mammal Emergency Response Network

ROMM

Réseau d'observation des mammifères marins

SARA

Species at Risk Act

SLAP

St. Lawrence Action Plan

SSLMP

Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park

TBT

Tributyltin

WWF

World Wildlife Fund