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No. 78: Aerial survey of geese, seaducks and other wildlife in the Disko Bay area, West Greenland, July 2015

Boertmann, D. & Petersen, I.K. 2016. Aerial survey of geese, seaducks and other wildlife in the Disko Bay area, West Greenland, July 2015. Aarhus University, DCE – Danish Centre for Environment and Energy, 26 pp. Technical Report from DCE – Danish Centre for Environment and Energy No. 78. http://dce2.au.dk/pub/TR78.pdf

 

Summary

 

In July 2015 seabirds and moulting geese were surveyed from aircraft in the Disko Bay area in West Greenland. The survey is part of an environmental study programme securing background data for a strategic environmental impact assessment of oil exploration activities in the region, which will be opened up for exploration in late 2016. The survey confirmed that areas previously identified as internationally important for moulting Greenland white-fronted geese are still important. However, the numbers of this threatened goose population are declining overall, and this trend was also observed in the moulting sites. In contrast to this, the population of Canada geese has increased. The number of moulting common eiders along the west coast of Disko Island had increased threefold since a similar survey in 1998.