Atlantic Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus), Nova Scotia-Newfoundland-Gulf of St. Lawrence (NS-NL-GSL) (formerly Northwest Atlantic) population: Consultations on listing under the Species at Risk Act

Atlantic Walrus was last assessed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) in 2017:

• The Northwest Atlantic COSEWIC designatable unit (DU), previously listed under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) as extirpated (2003), became the Nova Scotia-Newfoundland-Gulf of St. Lawrence (NS-NL-GSL) population
• The population was assessed as extinct

As SARA doesn’t apply to extinct species, this walrus population should be removed from Schedule 1 of SARA.

This population was originally thought to number in the tens of thousands; however, it was heavily harvested in the 17th and 18th centuries.

It became extirpated by the late 18th century. There is no evidence of re-establishment or breeding in the region.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) prepared a Recovery Strategy for the Northwest Atlantic population of Atlantic Walrus in 2008. At that time, it was determined that recovery of the Atlantic Walrus, Northwest Atlantic population (now Nova Scotia-Newfoundland-Gulf of St. Lawrence population) in Canada was neither technically nor biologically feasible.

Given that recovery was not feasible, and because the Nova Scotia-Newfoundland-Gulf of St. Lawrence population of Atlantic Walrus is now deemed to be extinct, there are no conservation activities for this walrus population.

Contact us

If you have any comments or feedback on the de-listing of Atlantic Walrus (Nova Scotia-Newfoundland-Gulf of St. Lawrence population), please contact us by:

Email

DFO.MARSARA-LEPMAR.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Mail

Species at Risk Program
Maritimes Region
PO Box 1006
Dartmouth, NS, B2Y 4A2