The coastal marine ecoregion of the northern Yukon supports a wide diversity of organisms, some of which are unique to this part of the Yukon. Many species of birds and fish rely on estuaries and coastal waters for food and shelter and for rearing grounds for their young. For example, huge numbers of ducks, geese, swans, shorebirds and marine birds visit the Beaufort coast and sea between June and September. This makes them vulnerable to the effects of oil and gas development, including accidents such as oil spills.
A total of 21 species of fish are found in the region, some moving seasonally between fresh water and the ocean. Fish such as Dolly Varden charr overwinter in small stretches of river where underground springs prevent the water from freezing to the river bottom. Food in this habitat is limited, forcing them to fast until the next open water season. River habitats which do not freeze solid are in short supply and fish populations could be vulnerable to disturbances such as water withdrawals.
Several marine mammals occur in the Beaufort Sea off the Yukon
coast. The Inuvialuit have a strong cultural tradition of harvesting
several of these species. Ringed seals were once important in
the local cash economy but the market for seal pelts disappeared
and the current Yukon harvest is fewer than 10 per year. Whaling,
however, continues to be a key subsistence activity during summer.
As this graph suggests the
annual beluga harvest in the Yukon is small in comparison to the
estimated 21,000 beluga thought to occur in the Beaufort region.
A Beaufort Sea Beluga Management Plan was developed in 1993 by
the Fisheries Joint Management Committee. The goals of the plan
are to maintain a thriving population of beluga whales and a sustainable
harvest of beluga for Inuvialuit.
