While conducting the 2013 aerial survey taking place this month, NOAA scientists observed thousands of walrus hauling out on a remote barrier island near Point Lay.

Although the scientists said it was difficult to provide an accurate count of the walruses that have been hauling out onto the island all month, they were able, through studying aerial photographs, to come up with an estimate of approximately 10,000 of the marine mammals.

First reported on September 12th, scientists say that the island had approximately 1,500 to 4,000 walruses hauling out. y September 22, 5,500 to 8,000 walruses were observed, by September 27th, that number had swelled to 10,000.

“Large walrus haulouts along the Alaskan coasts in the northeastern Chukchi Sea are a relatively new phenomenon,” said Megan Ferguson, marine mammal scientist with NOAA Fisheries. “NOAA’s research doesn’t typically extend to studying walruses, since this is a species managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), so you can imagine how exciting it was for us to be able to collect such valuable data for our partner agencies.”

Because seeing so many walruses hauling out onto the beaches in the area is a reletively new phenomenon, the aerial photographs are an essential tool for studying the walruses in the Arctic. The large marine mammals have deviated from their usual preference of hauling out on sea ice as they rest while foraging for clams, worms and snails. But, the rapidly melting sea ice has caused the walrus to begin hauling out onto beaches as they continue their foraging closer to shore. Haulouts in the Point Lay area began in 2007 with the rapidly receding sea ice and has grown to envelope other areas in northwest Alaska.

NOAA Scientists involved in the aerial survey project collaborate with several other federal, state and local agencies and universities by sharing field resources, data or information. In addition to BOEM, agencies and organizations include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, U.S. Coast Guard, North Slope Borough, Duke University, University of Alaska Fairbanks, and other entities conducting research in the Arctic.

“The coastal aerial surveys carried out by the NOAA team provide valuable information about the timing and location of coastal haulout formation on the Chukchi Sea coast,” said Joel Garlich-Miller, Wildlife Biologist with the USFWS. “Scientists and coastal communities use walrus haulout information to establish and adapt protection measures to minimize disturbances from aircraft overflights and ship traffic. The coastal surveys also provide valuable baseline information about important coastal habitats for walruses, which can be used to evaluate and mitigate potential impacts of proposed projects in the Chukchi Sea region.”

“Aerial photographs taken by the NOAA team provide a context for the USGS walrus tracking studies and allow USGS to make mission critical logistics decisions on when to deploy our teams and when to conduct our work with walruses on shore,” said Tony Fischbach, Wildlife Biologist with the US Geological Survey. “The NOAA team efforts are invaluable, as we all seek to understand how walruses are adjusting their behavior and movements in response to the loss of summer sea ice.”