General information
Between 5 August and 12 September, a collaborative effort between the Tuktoyaktuk Hunters and Trappers Committee (HTC), the Division of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), Canada, and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) attempted to attach satellite transmitters to bowhead whales in the Canadian Beaufort Sea, near Tuktoyaktuk, Canada.
2014 Bowhead Satellite Tagging Season
This year was characterized by poor weather and we found few whales in nearshore waters where the hunters expected whales to be found. After 38 days in the field, we managed to tag a total of two whales. Unfortunately, one of the tags is not yielding locations. This tag is sent a few messages to the Argos satellite system, so we may still receive locations from the tag at a later date.
The tag that is yielding locations was attached to a 30 foot bowhead whale on 20 August 2014, approximately 76 km (47 miles) northeast of Tuktoyaktuk, near Atkinson Point. The whale is fast approaching Alaskan waters and was last located 10 km (6 miles) from the Alaskan border. I will send out a map once every week to update folks on the location of this whale.
Lots of people helped with this effort, including James Pokiak (tagger), Charles Pokiak (tagging boat driver), Sammy Gruben (safety crew), Gary Raddi (safety boat driver), James Keevik (safety crew), Joe Felix, Jr. (safety boat driver), Deanna Leonard (DFO), Ellen Lea (DFO), Andrew Nichols (DFO), Lori Quakenbush (ADFG), Outi Tervo (Greenland Institute of Natural Resources), and Lois Harwood (DFO). John Noksana (President Tuktoyaktuk HTC) and Lena McIntyre (HTC) helped with local logistics and relations with the Tuktoyaktuk HTC. The project is funded by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management with additional support from the Division of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada.
Links
- For more updates on this tagged bowhead whale, go to ADFG Satellite Tracking of Western Arctic Bowhead Whales and to the archives for tracking maps from this tagging season beginning September 20, 2014 through February 27, 2015.
- For a new paper on bowhead core use areas, go to this site.
