Latest news with #MauriceLamontagneInstitute
Hamilton Spectator
27-05-2025
- Science
- Hamilton Spectator
Northwest Atlantic harp seal populations decline around the Gulf of St. Lawrence
A Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) survey conducted more than three years ago found that northwest Atlantic harp seal pup counts were at their lowest since 1994. In a May 23 news conference at the Maurice Lamontagne Institute in Mont-Joli, Que., DFO scientist Joanie Van de Walle said these seal pups need stable ice coverage for many weeks during their young age. 'We have noticed that when ice conditions are not appropriate it can result in massive mortality of youngsters because they are not able to survive when they fall in the water,' said the English translation. A DFO survey conducted in March 2022 measured the pup count of northwest Atlantic harp seals at 614,100. Scientific data from DFO has found that despite hunting northwest Atlantic harp seals near Greenland, its has contributed very little to the cause of mortality among young seals. 'Today, the ice coverage and climate index explain a large proportion of youths' mortality,' said the English interpretation. Besides the impact on youth survival, Van de Wall saw that environmental changes have an impact on reproduction rates, which is essential in explaining abundance and fluctuation. 'We have observed that there is a general reduction in the reproduction rates – but the rate of abortion over time has increased,' said the English interpretation. In an interview with The Guardian on May 23, Van de Walle says researchers haven't found any direct relationship between the lack of recovery of some of the few commercially fished species and the diet of northwest Atlantic harp seals. 'In terms of the harp seal population, the fact that it is declining, we don't expect that it would play a big role in the recovery of those species because it was not linked to the recovery to start with,' she said. However, grey seals face a different situation where their population is reaching a status close to carrying that capacity, Van de Walle added. 'And then at some point, we may find impacts, but we're not at the stage of having any direct measure of it yet,' she said. Van de Walle said that the loss of life for the baby harp seals inside their mother's womb could be explained by the decreasing biomass of capelin and lower ice coverage. 'We also observed that gestation rate was correlated with the climate rate in Newfoundland and Labrador,' said the English interpretation. In the winter of 2024, DFO found no births of northwest Atlantic harp seals in the southern region of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. However, this past winter, the birthing of harp seals occurred in the Gaspé region of Quebec and Îles-de-la-Madeleine. 'Even if we saw births in 2025, it doesn't mean that it was a good reproduction season for the species. In the future, it is difficult to say what will happen,' said the English interpretation. Yutaro Sasaki is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter, a position funded by the federal government. He can be reached by email at ysasaki@
CTV News
23-05-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
2024 sees record warm temperatures, less sea ice cover in Gulf of St. Lawrence
Boats make their way through the ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, March 25, 2006. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press) Last year, the Gulf of St. Lawrence recorded its highest maximum surface temperature and lowest seasonal volume of ice cover in decades, say researchers with the federal Fisheries Department. Surface temperatures and ice cover are directly related to air temperature, said Peter Galbraith, a research scientist in physical oceanography at the agency's Maurice Lamontagne Institute in Mont-Joli, Que., northeast of Quebec City. Last July, the surface temperature hit 16.7 C, a record since data started being recorded in 1981, and 2.4 C warmer than average. Between May and November, the warmest surface temperature was 11.6 C, also a record, and 1.6 C higher than average. 'So it was the warmest air temperature, which gave us the warmest sea surface temperature,' Galbraith said. The findings were presented at a briefing Friday on the state of the Gulf of St-Lawrence, with scientists presenting data from studies conducted last year on the marine environment. Aside from having the highest surface temperature in 2024, the Gulf of St. Lawrence also recorded the lowest seasonal ice cover since 1969. Sea ice is linked to winter air temperature between December and March. In the winter of 2023-24, the volume of ice cover was six cubic kilometres, compared to 14 cubic kilometres in the winter of 2024-25. The two winters are among the seven winters since 1969 that saw almost no sea ice. 'So our winters are warming quite a lot faster than the rest of the year, which is going to lead to more frequent years with very low sea ice cover in the Gulf of St. Lawrence,' Galbraith said. But the shift in temperatures is not linear. The last four years have been warmer than average, but so far this year, temperatures are closer to the average in April and May. 'So we might not have (a) hugely warm summer, we can't expect with climate change to have year after year after year of really, really hot,' Galbraith said. 'There's going to be some interannual variability, so we have to manage these expectations.' Effects on wildlife One species having to contend with the sea ice is the Northwest Atlantic harp seal. Joanie Van de Walle, a specialist in population dynamics with the Fisheries Department, said the seals are dependent on quality ice. Harp seals track the edge of the ice because that's where they find their preferred food, but it's also where they reproduce, give birth, and where young pups develop. The gulf herd breeds near the Iles-de-la-Madeleine in the middle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. When ice is limited, as it was in 2024 in the gulf, it was not considered a successful reproductive year. Some pups were abandoned by females because the ice drifted. 'Sometimes there is ice, but the ice is not of good enough quality, but some females still (give birth) in those conditions and that's when we see the most important impacts because the ice can break and that can lead to the drowning of the pups,' Van de Walle said. 'In years where there is very poor ice, we see massive mortality events for the pups.' Galbraith said projecting in the future, it's possible the gulf won't have any sea ice 75 or 100 years down the line, with the occasional cold polar vortex creating a rare ice event. If there's no ice, Harp seals may eventually move to other habitats where better ice exists, Van de Walle said. 'And in that case it would be probably even better for the stock because there they could encounter better conditions to give birth, but also to nurse and produce viable pups,' she said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 23, 2025. The Canadian Press
CBC
23-05-2025
- Climate
- CBC
2024 sees record warm temperatures, less sea ice cover in Gulf of St. Lawrence
Last year, the Gulf of St. Lawrence recorded its highest maximum surface temperature and lowest seasonal volume of ice cover in decades, say researchers with the federal Fisheries Department. Surface temperatures and ice cover are directly related to air temperature, said Peter Galbraith, a research scientist in physical oceanography at the agency's Maurice Lamontagne Institute in Mont-Joli, Que., northeast of Quebec City. Last July, the surface temperature hit 16.7 C, a record since data started being recorded in 1981, and 2.4 C warmer than average. Between May and November, the warmest surface temperature was 11.6 C, also a record, and 1.6 C higher than average. "So it was the warmest air temperature, which gave us the warmest sea surface temperature," Galbraith said. The findings were presented at a briefing Friday on the state of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, with scientists presenting data from studies conducted last year on the marine environment. Aside from having the highest surface temperature in 2024, the Gulf of St. Lawrence also recorded the lowest seasonal ice cover since 1969. Sea ice is linked to winter air temperature between December and March. In the winter of 2023-24, the volume of ice cover was six cubic kilometres, compared to 14 cubic kilometres in the winter of 2024-25. The two winters are among the seven winters since 1969 that saw almost no sea ice. "So our winters are warming quite a lot faster than the rest of the year, which is going to lead to more frequent years with very low sea ice cover in the Gulf of St. Lawrence," Galbraith said. But the shift in temperatures is not linear. The last four years have been warmer than average, but so far this year, temperatures are closer to the average in April and May. "So we might not have [a] hugely warm summer, we can't expect with climate change to have year after year after year of really, really hot," Galbraith said. "There's going to be some interannual variability, so we have to manage these expectations." One species having to contend with the sea ice is the Northwest Atlantic harp seal. Joanie Van de Walle, a specialist in population dynamics with the Fisheries Department, said the seals are dependent on quality ice. Harp seals track the edge of the ice because that's where they find their preferred food, but it's also where they reproduce, give birth and where young pups develop. The gulf herd breeds near the Iles-de-la-Madeleine in the middle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. When ice is limited, as it was in 2024 in the gulf, it was not considered a successful reproductive year. Some pups were abandoned by females because the ice drifted. "Sometimes there is ice, but the ice is not of good enough quality, but some females still [give birth] in those conditions and that's when we see the most important impacts because the ice can break and that can lead to the drowning of the pups," Van de Walle said. "In years where there is very poor ice, we see massive mortality events for the pups." Galbraith said projecting in the future, it's possible the gulf won't have any sea ice 75 or 100 years down the line, with the occasional cold polar vortex creating a rare ice event. If there's no ice, Harp seals may eventually move to other habitats where better ice exists, Van de Walle said. "And in that case it would be probably even better for the stock because there they could encounter better conditions to give birth, but also to nurse and produce viable pups," she said.
