Dear MARMAM community On behalf of my co-authors I am pleased to share our technical report "Killer whale photographic-identification catalogue for the Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area and Cumberland Sound, 2009-2020”, which can be accessed at the following link: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2023/mpo-dfo/Fs97-6-3564-eng.pdf
Abstract: Photographic identification is an important tool for the study of many marine mammal species, and has been used to document populations of killer whales (Orcinus orca) around the globe since the 1970s. Distinct features on the dorsal fin and saddle patch allow for the identification of individual killer whales, leading to a better understanding of the species’ abundance, distribution, and ecology. In the eastern Canadian Arctic, killer whale presence appears to be increasing during the ice-free season. The number of killer whales seasonally present in the Northern Baffin Island region was estimated to be 163 ± 27 based on mark-recapture analysis of 63 individuals identified in photographs collected from 2009-2018. In this report, we provide an updated photo-identification catalogue of killer whales photographed between 2009- 2020 in and around the Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area (primarily in the waters surrounding northern Baffin Island) and Cumberland Sound, Nunavut. We identify 94 killer whales in and around the Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area and eight individuals in Cumberland Sound, and report the photographic sightings history of each individual identified. Please feel free to contact myself or any of the other authors if you have questions. Best wishes, Caila Kucheravy MSc Student, University of Manitoba Freshwater Institute, Fisheries and Oceans Canada [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
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