How many beluga whales are there?

Counting belugas is not an easy task! That said, in order to closely monitor the situation, it is essential that we keep track of the size and the rate of change of this endangered population.

To go through the looking glass:

Since 1973, scientists with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and independent researchers have been conducting regular aerial surveys of the beluga population in the St. Lawrence.

In short     

Surveys taken between 1973 and 1985 estimated the number of belugas in the St. Lawrence to be approximately 500 individuals, or barely 10 % of the population of the end of the 1800s. Surveys conducted between 1988 and 2000 estimated the population to be somewhere between 500 and 700. Unfortunately, these results cannot be compared because different methodologies were used. It is therefore impossible to verify whether the population has increased or is stable. However, it appears unlikely that the population is in decline.

Good news:

Up until now, the correction factor used to obtain estimates, which would include submerged belugas invisible during the aerial surveys, was 15 %. This correction factor was re-evaluated upwards. By applying a correction factor of 109 %, data from the most recent surveys set estimates at between 1000 and 1400 belugas. Of course, this revision does not mean that the population has grown. It simply means that we underestimated the number of belugas in the St. Lawrence in the past, which is good news!

News from the field :

Counting the Belugas of the St. Lawrence (2003)

Other research projects