Assessing the potential effects of near shore hydrocarbon exploration on ringed seals in the Beaufort Sea Region 2003-2006

Since the recommencement of industrial activities in the year 2000, the near-shore area of the Canadian Beaufort Sea, Northwest Territories has been the subject of exploration for hydrocarbon reserves, culminating in the drilling, testing and abandonment of an exploratory gas well at a site called Paktoa. The impact of hydrocarbon exploration activities on local populations of ringed seals, polar bears, and bearded seals was identified as a significant concern during a workshop held in Inuvik in January 2002. This report presented a study that was designed to determine the distribution, densities, baseline behavioural patterns, body and reproductive condition of ringed and bearded seals in the fast ice habitat north of the Mackenzie River estuary in the Beaufort Sea at the Paktoa drilling site. The report discussed the ice regime of the study area as well as the methods used for data collection. This included a discussion of surveys of ringed seal breeding habitat; capture and satellite tagging of ringed seals; data analysis; collection and processing of specimens of ringed seals; and aerial surveys for ringed seals. The report also discussed design recommendations for future studies of the ringed seal in sea ice habitats as well as new studies for consideration and mitigative measures and monitoring. It was concluded that one season of drilling by industry at the Paktoa site had no detectable effect on ringed seals in the study area. While the aerial surveys revealed bearded seals were present in the area at low densities, too few individuals were observed in any part of the study to draw conclusions about the possible industrial effects on this species. 86 refs., 21 tabs., 30 figs.