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Points of concern in
Sea Duck conservation
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An excerpt from
“SEADUCKS: A Time for Action”
M.R.Peterson, Nat. Biological Service & Mary Hogan, USFWS
sea ducks (Tribe Mergini) are frequently ignored by waterfowl managers. The
perception for many years has been that there were plenty of seaducks.
harvest pressure was low, and we did not have to worry about them. This in
part was reflected by the very liberal season and take throughout their
range. Much of the resources available for waterfowl management has focused
on declining geese and duck populations (Anatini and Aythyini) and the major
changes in their habitats. As a result of this effort. many duck and goose
populations have increased
In Europe. sea ducks are considered seabirds. As such they receive protection
and resources for their management with that available for seabirds. In
North America, funding for seabirds became available with increased
environmental awareness and interest in nongame species. As work on seabirds
has increased dramatically over the past 10 years, work on sea ducks has
remained comparatively static. As waterfowl, they were rarely included in
funding initiatives for seabirds. They were rarely included in funding
initiatives for waterfowl because of the perception of more pressing needs
of popular game species such as geese and dabbling ducks. This negligence of
sea ducks has come back to haunt us. As managers we were more concerned with
the species most in demand by hunters.....
The need for further information about sea ducks was recognized by Canada,
the U.S., and Mexico in the 1994 update of the North Amercan Waterfowl
Management Plan (Anonymous 1994): "There is an immediate need to
supplement current knowledge of sea ducks with reliable information on
population status, production, harvest, and factors affecting mortality and
survival." However, work on sea ducks continues to be of low priority to
most agencies and is generally underfunded. |
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