Tundra Swan
Well-Known Member
An Ontario Tundra Swan Season (Part 7)
Subsistence Harvest of Tundra Swans
The annual sustainable total harvest of birds from the Eastern Population of Tundra Swans and the Western Population of Tundra Swans has been established at 10% of the mid-winter survey for each population.
Eastern Population of Tundra Swans
The Management Plan for the Eastern Population of Tundra Swans (2007) has allocated a subsistence harvest rate of 5% most of which would take place in the Canadian high arctic since only about 4% of the Eastern Population of Tundra Swans breed in the area known as the "north slope" of Alaska which is sparsely populated by the Indigenous Peoples there.
It was estimated that the subsistence harvest rate from the Eastern Population of Tundra Swans in 2007 was approximately 3.5% ... well below the allocated 5% harvest rate.
The Management Plan for the Eastern Population of Tundra Swans (2007) has allocated a sport harvest rate of 5% with the distribution of 9,600 tags based upon a harvest success rate of 50% but the actual average long-term harvest success rate is only 37% ... providing an additional buffer to prevent an over harvest of Tundra Swans.
It would appear that a 50:50 split between the subsistence harvest and the sport harvest is an equitable and sustainable part of the management plan.
Western Population of Tundra Swans
The Management Plan for the Western Population of Tundra Swans (2001) has allocated a subsistence harvest rate of 5% most of which would take place in the Y-K Delta of Alaska with the remaining from areas along the rest of the west coast of Alaska.
In 2001 there were 5,399 Tundra Swans reported harvested from the Y-K Delta of Alaska and only 401 Tundra Swans reported harvested from areas along the rest of the west coast of Alaska for a total of 5,800 Tundra Swans reported harvested in that year.
In 2015 there were 3,663 Tundra Swans reported harvested from the Y-K Delta of Alaska and no Tundra Swans reported harvested from areas along the rest of the west coast of Alaska.
The Management Plan for the Western Population of Tundra Swans (2001) has allocated a sport harvest rate of 5% with the distribution of 3,150 tags based upon the actual average long-term harvest success rate of only 36% ... providing an additional buffer to prevent an over harvest of Tundra Swans. There are however an additional 900 (3 bird) permits for Alaska but most of these permits are not utilized by hunters.
It would appear (based upon the 2015 harvest data) that the split between the subsistence harvest and the sport harvest was 3,663 birds to 1,125 birds but the distribution of the tags for the sport harvest was based upon the fact that the hunters in Utah, Nevada and Montana collectively would have a harvest success rate of only 36%. If all of the sport hunters had harvested a bird then both harvests would have been about the same. The sport harvest in Alaska (generally rather low) for 2015 was not available.
Note: The reporting of harvested Tundra Swans in the spring and in the fall as well as the collection of their eggs by the Indigenous Peoples of Canada and the United States is based upon their cooperation with the Canadian Wildlife Service and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) respectively rather than by an obligation to do so.
The Management Plan for the Western Population of Tundra Swans (2017) acknowledged that the annual subsistence harvest combined with the annual sport harvest will not be able to prevent the continual increase in the number of Tundra Swans in that population ... a good reason for the Province of Alberta to request a Tundra Swan season at this time.
Please refer to Part 8 regarding "Who is Stopping a Tundra Swan Season" in Canada and what you can do to correct that from continuing in the future.
Jerome Katchin, D.V.M.
Subsistence Harvest of Tundra Swans
The annual sustainable total harvest of birds from the Eastern Population of Tundra Swans and the Western Population of Tundra Swans has been established at 10% of the mid-winter survey for each population.
Eastern Population of Tundra Swans
The Management Plan for the Eastern Population of Tundra Swans (2007) has allocated a subsistence harvest rate of 5% most of which would take place in the Canadian high arctic since only about 4% of the Eastern Population of Tundra Swans breed in the area known as the "north slope" of Alaska which is sparsely populated by the Indigenous Peoples there.
It was estimated that the subsistence harvest rate from the Eastern Population of Tundra Swans in 2007 was approximately 3.5% ... well below the allocated 5% harvest rate.
The Management Plan for the Eastern Population of Tundra Swans (2007) has allocated a sport harvest rate of 5% with the distribution of 9,600 tags based upon a harvest success rate of 50% but the actual average long-term harvest success rate is only 37% ... providing an additional buffer to prevent an over harvest of Tundra Swans.
It would appear that a 50:50 split between the subsistence harvest and the sport harvest is an equitable and sustainable part of the management plan.
Western Population of Tundra Swans
The Management Plan for the Western Population of Tundra Swans (2001) has allocated a subsistence harvest rate of 5% most of which would take place in the Y-K Delta of Alaska with the remaining from areas along the rest of the west coast of Alaska.
In 2001 there were 5,399 Tundra Swans reported harvested from the Y-K Delta of Alaska and only 401 Tundra Swans reported harvested from areas along the rest of the west coast of Alaska for a total of 5,800 Tundra Swans reported harvested in that year.
In 2015 there were 3,663 Tundra Swans reported harvested from the Y-K Delta of Alaska and no Tundra Swans reported harvested from areas along the rest of the west coast of Alaska.
The Management Plan for the Western Population of Tundra Swans (2001) has allocated a sport harvest rate of 5% with the distribution of 3,150 tags based upon the actual average long-term harvest success rate of only 36% ... providing an additional buffer to prevent an over harvest of Tundra Swans. There are however an additional 900 (3 bird) permits for Alaska but most of these permits are not utilized by hunters.
It would appear (based upon the 2015 harvest data) that the split between the subsistence harvest and the sport harvest was 3,663 birds to 1,125 birds but the distribution of the tags for the sport harvest was based upon the fact that the hunters in Utah, Nevada and Montana collectively would have a harvest success rate of only 36%. If all of the sport hunters had harvested a bird then both harvests would have been about the same. The sport harvest in Alaska (generally rather low) for 2015 was not available.
Note: The reporting of harvested Tundra Swans in the spring and in the fall as well as the collection of their eggs by the Indigenous Peoples of Canada and the United States is based upon their cooperation with the Canadian Wildlife Service and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) respectively rather than by an obligation to do so.
The Management Plan for the Western Population of Tundra Swans (2017) acknowledged that the annual subsistence harvest combined with the annual sport harvest will not be able to prevent the continual increase in the number of Tundra Swans in that population ... a good reason for the Province of Alberta to request a Tundra Swan season at this time.
Please refer to Part 8 regarding "Who is Stopping a Tundra Swan Season" in Canada and what you can do to correct that from continuing in the future.
Jerome Katchin, D.V.M.