Evidence of Recent Population Recovery in Common Eiders Breeding in Western Greenland

Abstract

Severe population declines were reported for common eiders (Somateria mollissima) in western Greenland over the period 1960-2000. A monitoring program, concurrent with more restrictive hunting regulations on common eiders, revealed breeding numbers increasing by 212%, from 2,558 active nests in 2000 to 7,982 nests in 2007. Though it was not possible to directly link harvest reduction and population growth in West Greenland, a similar increase in breeding numbers in Canada was correlated with the harvest reduction in Greenland and linked to increasing adult survival and recruitment of first-time breeders, and a similar explanation is suggested for West Greenland. The study emphasizes that appropriate restrictions in hunting can be efficient in wildlife management and that common eiders can sustain dramatic rates of increase during population regrowth. It also shows that cost-efficient monitoring programs can be established through cooperation with local residents.

Assessing regional populations of ground-nesting marine birds in the Canadian High Arctic

“…Increasing eiders near our site is consistent with recent population increases found in West Greenland (Merkel 2010). Eiders from Queen's Channel probably overwinter in the same region as eiders from northern West Greenland (Mosbech et al 2006), so the recent declines in the numbers of eiders harvested during the winter may explain why our breeding population has increased approximately three-fold in six years.…”

Biodiversity and ecosystem services in Nordic coastal ecosystems

“…Smaller boats report catches to the place where the sell their catch while larger boats keep an updated logbook with records of all catches. Hunters report all catch annually via the Greenland hunting and catch registration system, Piniarneq (Merkel, 2010). , 2014).…”

“…Researchers have often interviewed fishers and hunters in Disko Bay, including with regard to climate change observations (Holm, 2010), sea ice (Taverniers, 2010), Atlantic cod (Petersen, 2002), walrus (Born et al, 1994), harp seal (Meldgaard, 2004;Born et al, 2011), polar bear (Born et al, 2011), narwhal (ELOKA, 2010 and beluga (McDowell, 2013). In northwest Greenland, including Disko Bay, locals and biologists from GINR have, since 2001, been following the breeding of common eiders and it was partly based on the results of this program, that it was possible to extend the hunting season (Ministry of Environment and Nature, 2014;Merkel, 2010Merkel, , 2016. Since the 1st of January 1993, information on catch has been obtained from hunters, as they have to report their catch via the "Piniarneq" system.…”

Biodiversity and ecosystem services in Nordic coastal ecosystems

“…Among the bird species, especially common eider and thick-billed murre have suffered large population declines, which has been linked to hunting and egg collection. Eiders have responded positively as restrictions have been enforced, while murres have kept declining (Christensen, Mosbech, & Geertz-Hansen, 2015;Merkel, 2010).…”