Walrusses migrate between Greenland and Canada Published 05.06.2009

Sven Heilmann from Maniitsoq caught a walrus on April 24th 2009 in the packice outside Nordre Osrotoq in West Greenland. the walrus was tagged in the hind flipper with an orange tag numbered 41. This is the first time a walrus tagged in Canada is caught in Greenland, and conforms that hunters in Greenland and Canada exploit the same stock.

On September 3rd 2007, walrus no 41 was hauling out with his friends on a skerry outside Cumberland Sound at for Baffin Island in Canada – ca 400 km west of of Sisimiut. The scientist worked with the hunters from Sisimiut and Canada to tag walruses and instrument them with radio transmitters. The wanted to study the relations between Baffin Island walruses and the hunted stocks in West Greenland.

When Heilmann caught the walrus with the tag, the radio transmitter had fallen off. This is the first walrus to be traced from the Canadian haul outs back to the pack ice in West Greenland.

Tagging of walruses instrumented with satellite transmitters near Sisimiut in 2005-2008 proved the anticipated connections between the Walruses on both sides of Baffin Bay.

The field work in Baffin Island summer 2007 and in West Greenland form 2005-2008 is a cooperation between Greenland Institute of Natural Resources and Department of Fisheries and Oceans in Canada. the fieldwork was done in cooperation with hunters from Sisimiut in Greenland and Pangnirtung and Qikiqtarjuaq on Baffin Island in Canada.