A second edition of the Beluga Summit was held between March 11th and 13th in Inuvik, Northwest Territories. Co-organized by the Joint Secretariat, Inuvialuit Game Council, Fisheries Joint Management Committee and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Beluga Summit II brought together Inuvialuit communities, research scientists, and resource co-managers to share knowledge on the Eastern Beaufort Sea belugas. In addition to facilitating exchanges regarding Inuvialuit traditional ecological knowledge and western science, the Beluga Summit aimed to inform future priorities and to guide co-management of this important beluga population in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region.
The CWHC-Quebec team was invited to present the beluga health assessment program, where the health of harvested belugas of this population is assessed through veterinary-led necropsies. This program also aims at better understanding nutritional condition in the whales of this population, as well as the documentation of reproductive status in females and assessing the presence of parasites that could be of concern for human consumption. Overall, the 61 whales examined through both editions of the health assessment (2015–2016 and 2023–2024) were in good health and no significant food-borne parasite risk was identified. While the analyses associated with the necropsies
are still underway, preliminary results and potential scientific and management outreach from the assessment were shared with participants of the Beluga
Summit. Émilie L. Couture and Amélia Dalpé also had the chance to participate and share their expertise in beluga health in various breakout sessions and discussions.
For more information on the health assessments conducted by the CWHC-Québec team, please follow these links!
CWHC Québec Contributes to Health Assessments of Beluga Whales in the Beaufort Sea