Ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea) recovery strategy 2014: chapter 5

1. COSEWIC[1] Species Assessment Information

Date of Assessment: April 2006

Common Name (population): Ivory Gull

Scientific Name: Pagophila eburnea

COSEWIC Status: Endangered

Reason for Designation: Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge and intensive breeding colony   surveys over the last four years indicate that the Canadian breeding population of this long-lived seabird has declined by 80% over the last 20 years. This bird feeds along ice-edge habitats in the high Arctic and breeds in very remote locations. Threats include contaminants in food chain, continued hunting in Greenland, possible disturbance by mineral exploration at some breeding locations, and degradation of ice-related foraging habitats as a result of climate change.

Canadian Occurrence: Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Newfoundland and Labrador

COSEWIC Status History: Designated Special Concern in April 1979. Status re-examined and confirmed in April 1996 and in November 2001.

1 COSEWIC (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada)

Page details

Date modified: