Numbers of ringed seals hauled out on the ice began to increase in early June. Numbers on the ice were highest from 0900 to 1500 hours Central Standard Time and lowest (average 40–50% of peak) in early morning. Seals commonly remained on the ice for several hours, and occasionally (during calm weather) for > 48 h. Numbers on the ice were reduced on windy days and possibly also on unusually warm, bright and calm days. Seals tended to face away from the wind (particularly with high wind speed) and oriented broadside to the sun. Seals usually occurred singly (60–70% of all groups) at their holes.Numbers of seals hauled out at Freemans Cove remained relatively constant during June (maximum density 4.86/km2), whereas at Aston Bay numbers increased dramatically to a maximum density of 10.44/km2 in late June. The increase was thought to be due to an influx of seals abandoning unstable ice. The density of seal holes at Freemans Cove (5.92/km2) was much higher than at Aston Bay (2.73/km2). The ratio of holes to the maximum numbers of seals (1.12:1) at Freemans Cove represents a first estimate of this relationship in an apparently stable population.

A late summer concentration of bowheads (Balaena mysticetus) at Isabella Bay, Baffin Island, was studied during 1983-88. The general results of the field study are presented and integrated with historical research and artifactual evidence of British whaling. Bowheads were observed from shore on virtually every day of adequate visibility in late summer, early fall of 1984-88, but in 1983 only two whales appeared. Peak numbers occurred in September, when as many as 68 whales were counted on one day. The whales congregated in specific areas corresponding to significant underwater topographic features. Most feeding took place in one of two deep (> 200 m) troughs and most social activity occurred on a shallow bank (< 30 m). Earliest arrivals were large subadults that engaged in social-sexual activities on the bank; adults arrived later and fed in deep troughs. Migrants from the north arrived in October. The mean length of 83 whales, measured photogrammetrically, was 14.4 m; 89% were > 13 m long, which is about the minimum size of sexual maturity. The smallest whales, presumed to be large subadults, had less white on the tail stock. Females with calves were rarely seen. One distinctively marked individual was observed in 4 of 6 years. Another was observed in 1984 as a late summer "resident" and in 1986 as an autumn "migrant." Seven of 47 whales identified individually from aerial photographs in 1987 were identified among 107 photo-identified individuals in 1986. Interactions of killer whales with bowheads were observed twice. About one-third of the bowheads bear killer whale scars. Whaling literature indicates that bowheads on the east coast of Baffin Island, called rocknosers, were segregated in late summer from those in the High Arctic archipelago. This population was exploited mostly after 1859 with the advent of steam power, in an operation called rocknosing. Isabella Bay was a significant port of operation during this last phase of theindustry; the whalers were strategically positioned to hunt large whales in offshore troughs late in the season. Other locations with similar characteristics on the east coast of Baffin are identified from Inuit lore and historical literature.

Stomach contents of 73 narwhals (Monodon monoceros) taken in Pond Inlet during June to September 1978–1979 were examined. Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) and Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) comprised 51% and 37%, respectively, of the diet by weight. Arctic cod contributed 57% in 1978 but only 29% in 1979. Squid (Gonatus fabricii) beaks were abundant but not representative of recent intake. Deepwater fish (halibut, redfish (Sebastes marinus), and polar cod (Arctogadus glacialis)), found primarily in male narwhals, indicate a deep diving (>500 m) capability. The largest measured weight of stomach contents was 10.1 kg and weights projected from otoliths did not exceed 19.6 kg. No selection of prey items by size was evident amongst various sex and age groups of narwhals. Feeding was most intensive at the ice edge and ice cracks but little feeding took place in the fiords during late summer. Blubber thickness declined in females but not in males during the summer. The significance of traditional summering areas appears to be related to calving requirements and not to feeding opportunities.

Aerial surveys in June and July, 1978 and 1979, documented an unexpectedly large population (at least 417 O O O) of ringed seals, some with pups, inhabiting the pack ice of Baffin Bay. Pack-ice seals are smaller than their fast-ice counterparts and have a different diet and gut parasite load. Age and reproductive data, although limited, indicate that the offshore seals are a normal breeding population, Pack-ice seals probably mix with fast-ice seals in coastal areas during the brief open-water season but morphological and ecological differences suggest that the populations are reproductively isolated. This study prompts reconsideration of the importance of offshore pack ice to ringed seals and, therefore, to the coastal hunting economy of Inuit in Greenland and Baffn Island.

ABSTRACT. One of the longest-living mammals, the Greenland whale or bowhead (Balaena mysticetus) is specialized to filter small crustaceans, especially Calanus copepods, from barren Arctic seas. Brought to near extinction by commercial whaling, the North Atlantic 'meta-population' remains at less than 5% of its former abundance, and none of its three constituent stocks has shown demonstrable recovery during the last century. Two of these stocks, the Baffin Bay and Hudson Bay populations, occur in coastal waters of the Eastern Canadian Arctic during summer. Each of these two stocks numbers in the low hundreds and exists in isolated groups segregated by age and sex, showing strong fidelity to essential habitats. A skewed age distribution, predation by killer whales (Orcinus orca), hunting, net entanglement, tourism, climate change, habitat loss, and inbreeding suppression are some of the factors that may affect the bowhead's recovery. We need local and historical knowledge to understand the bowhead's natural history. Together with scientific data, such knowledge is also useful in evaluating the status of the species and prescribing a management plan. A recovery plan must employ the precautionary principle, both within the international 'meta-population' context and at the sub-population level; it must take a historical view and seek to protect abandoned habitats. Canada has conducted whaling activities that violate international agreements and diminish the effectiveness of the International Whaling Commission.Key words: Greenland whale, bowhead whale, Balaena mysticetus, biology, conservation, management, traditional knowledge RÉSUMÉ. La baleine boréale ou baleine franche (Balaena mysticetus), l'un des mammifères qui vit le plus longtemps, est spécialisée pour filtrer les petits crustacés, des copépodes Calanus pour la plupart, vivant dans les mers arctiques peu peuplées. Amenée au bord de l'extinction par la chasse commerciale à la baleine, la «métapopulation» de l'Atlantique Nord se maintient à moins de 5 p. cent de son abondance passée, et aucun des trois stocks qui la composent n'a montré un rétablissement ferme au cours du siècle dernier. Deux de ces stocks, la population de la baie de Baffin et celle de la baie d'Hudson, se trouvent en été dans les eaux côtières de l'Arctique canadien oriental. Chacun d'eux comprend quelques centaines d'individus, répartis en groupes isolés selon l'âge et le sexe, qui démontrent une fidélité marquée pour les habitats essentiels à leur survie. Une asymétrie de la distribution par âge, la prédation par les épaulards (Orcinus orca), la chasse, l'enchevêtrement dans les filets, le tourisme, le changement climatique, la perte d'habitat et la dépression consanguine sont au nombre des facteurs qui pourraient influencer le rétablissement de l'espèce. Le savoir local et le savoir historique sont tous deux nécessaires pour comprendre l'évolution naturelle de la baleine boréale. Couplés aux données scientifiques, ces savoirs sont en outre utiles dans l'évaluation de l'état de l'espèce ...