The Davis Strait - DCE - Nationalt Center for Miljø og Energi

Until recently the abundance of harbour porpoises in West Greenland was
unknown, but stock size has now been estimated to approximately 33,300
animals (Hansen 2010). It is believed that this stock is separated from neighbouring
populations in Iceland and Newfoundland. Because population size
has only recently been estimated it is not clear yet whether the hunting of
harbour porpoise in Greenland is sustainable. Hence, harbour porpoises are
listed as data deficient on the Greenland Red List (Boertmann 2007), but their
large abundance in the Northern hemisphere puts them in the least concern
category on the IUCN Red List (IUCN 2008).
Beluga whale, Delphinapterus leucas
Beluga whales reach a length up to 5 metres and a weight of 1,500 kg and
although they are born grey they turn white with age. They prey mainly on
fish, especially polar cod but also squid and shrimp constitute a part of their
diet (Heide-Jørgensen & Teilmann 1994). Beluga whales most often travel in
groups of two to ten whales, but larger groups are not uncommon.
Beluga whales only occur in the Arctic and Subarctic region, where they live
among the pack ice in leads and polynias during winter and migrate to shallow
bays and estuaries during summer (NAMMCO 2008). The beluga
whales found in West Greenland during winter spend the summer in the
Canadian High Arctic archipelago and tagging with satellite transmitters indicates
that only a fraction of the whales travel to West Greenland while the
majority most likely reside in the North Water Polynia (Heide-Jørgensen et
al. 2003a). The whales that do travel to West Greenland migrate along the
North West Greenland coast and arrive at more southern feeding areas
South of Disko in December, where they remain scattered on the shallow
banks until spring (Heide-Jørgensen et al. 2009). Although beluga whales
occur within the northern part of the assessment area they do not have their
main distribution in this area. Instead Store Hellefiskebanke just north of the
assessment area supports high densities of beluga whales, where only ice
coverage seem to be the limiting factor of this species’ movements further
north or offshore (Heide-Jørgensen et al. 2009). Beluga whales are expected
to acquire the major part of their annual food intake in their winter quarters
(Fig. 4.8.8).
The wintering whales in West Greenland and the North Water are considered
as two different stocks, both of which spend the summer in the Canadian
High Arctic (NAMMCO 2008). The latest abundance estimate of the West
Greenland stock was calculated in 2006 to constitute 10,595 individuals and
the stock is considered substantially depleted (Heide-Jørgensen et al. 2009,
NAMMCO 2008). Due to this, beluga whales in West Greenland are considered
as critically endangered on the Greenland Red List (Boertmann 2007). Yet,
on a global scale they are categorised as near threatened (IUCN 2008).
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