2. Seal Telemetry

"Every Move That You Make" - Tagging and Tracking Ringed Seals in the Western Arctic using Satellite Telemetry - 1999 to 2003

Highlights

Sixteen ringed seals were captured, fitted with satellite-linked transmitters, weighed and measured, and released near Holman, NT, (4 in 1999 and 4 in 2000) and near Paulatuk (4 in 2001 and 4 in 2002) in Canada's western Arctic. The comings and goings of these seals were monitored via the ARGOS satellite system through summer, fall and winter after tagging.

Transmissions cease when the batteries are drained or when the tag falls off during the spring moult, whichever comes first. The study revealed exciting new information about the travels and behaviour of these seals.

Project Participants

Olokhaktomiut (Holman) Hunters and Trappers Committee
Box 161
Holman, NT, Canada
X0E 0S0

Paulatuk Hunters and Trappers Committee
General Delivery,
Paulatuk, NT Canada
X0E 1N0

EMC ECO Marine Corporation
Garthby Station, Quebec

Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans
Arctic Science Division
Yellowknife, NT

Project Sponsors:

Canada Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans (Oceans Division, Science Division) (1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002)
Fisheries Joint Management Committee (FJMC), Inuvik, NT - 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002
Anderson Exploration Ltd 1999 and 2000
Devon Canada Corporation 2001 and 2002
World Wildlife Fund of Canada, Toronto, Ontario (1999 and 2002)

Study Objectives

To enhance the utility of an existing long-term, community-based seal monitoring program as a tool for monitoring ecosystem health and productivity.
In a community-based program, to develop local expertise in the application of satellite tags to ringed seals in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region.
To document the range and movements of adult, adolescent and young-of- the- year ringed seals from the Safety Channel area near Holman, and from the Cape Parry area of Amundsen Gulf,
To facilitate partnering of industry, government, the Inuvialuit and the private sector in a long-term, ecosystem-based research.
To examine the depth and duration of ringed seal dives, time at surface, and distribution and movements of tagged seals in relation to ice conditions and oceanographic features in these areas (depicted in satellite imagery), as a means of elucidating important feeding locations within the region, feeding depths (water column vs benthic) and feeding behaviors.

The information we receive includes the location of the tagged seal, and the depth and duration of dives that the seal makes. We can also tell the proportion of time that the seal spends 'at sea' and 'hauled out'.

We used two types of tags, one type with two C cell batteries, and the second type with four C cell batteries. The smaller tags are put on the smaller animals, while the larger ones are put on the larger seals such as the 185 lb adult males tagged at Holman in 1999.

The tags are programmed to continue to transmit through the fall, winter and spring following their application in summer, or about 10 months. They fall off the seal during the annual moult. This is set up to get information hopefully for one almost one full annual cycle from each seal.

Results Seals Tagged Near Holman - 1999 and 2000

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The adult ringed seals that were tagged near the community of Holman were caught and released just after break up of the sea ice. For the most part, the seals departed the area soon after the tags were applied, traveling far to the north and east of the tagging site. The larger males and one adult female traveled to the Viscount Melville Sound area, remaining there throughout the summer. The females tended to not go as far as the males, and return sooner. It appeared that the seals were feeding in these areas, which interestingly also provides important summer feeding habitat for beluga whales (also revealed through satellite telemetry studies, Richard et al. 2001; Arctic 54, No. 3 2001). As fall approached, the seals made their way back to the Holman area, eventually wintering in the same general area where they were originally captured.

Subadult seals tagged near Holman followed a different pattern, not making the sojourn to the Viscount Melville Sound area. Although also apparently focusing on feeding during the summer months, they moved throughout Amundsen Gulf in various directions, stopping at river mouths and ice edges for feeding. Then on to the next location. One seal was feeding off the shores of Banks Island, whilst another traveled to the southeast ending up spending the winter in the Bathurst Inlet area. Subadults appeared to be seeking mates and/or feeding areas other than where they had spent the winter off Holman. These findings reaffirmed our understanding that established adults maintain their territories around the prime breeding area during the winter, and the revealed that they travel great distances in summer to feed. Subadults occupy the periphery or disperse.

Seals Tagged Near Paulatuk - 2001 and 2002

It has long been known by local harvesters and scientists alike that young seals migrate westward past Cape Parry each fall. It was our objective to tag seals during this migration to determine their destination, migration routes, rates and patterns, and diving and feeding behaviours. Eight young seals, ranging in age from 0-4 years of age, were tagged at this site in September. This was a difficult site to work in, owing to the rough sea conditions in fall.

All of the seals that were tagged move westward almost immediately after tagging, and showed some striking results. The westward migrating seals followed a similar path to each other, and exhibited a deliberate and rapid migration from Amundsen Gulf to the Chukchi Sea. Off the North Slope of Alaska, they followed the shelf break zone, diverging only when they reached Point Barrow. After passing Point Barrow, the seals migrated in a variety of directions, including through the Bering Strait toward Japan; to the Wrangel Island and Herald Canyon areas; and to the coast of Siberia in the East Siberian Sea.

In 2001, the seals migrated westward in the vicinity of an operating seismic vessel, the GeCo Snapper. The routing or rate of seal migration did not appear to be affected by the presence of the seismic vessel.


Seal Telemetry: 1999-2000	Seal Telemetry: 2000-2001


Seal Telemetry: 2001-2002	Seal Telemetry: 2002-2003

Project Status

The location data have all been extracted and plotted for publication in the scientific literature. Spatial analysis of the data is continuing. The diving data from these animals is also being analysed, and it is our plan to publish results from this work prior to additional open water season tagging. Additional seal tagging is underway with project 3.

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