Sea Duck Research and Management

This is an important management issue because of the fact that sea ducks are so difficult to study. The group consists of 15 species in the tribe Mergini, including Eiders, Goldeneyes, Long-tailed Ducks and Harlequin Ducks and 11 out of these 15 species have been thought to have declining populations. The decline may be attributed to overharvest, lead poisoning  oil spills, fishing nets, loss of habitat and predation. It is difficult to help these sea ducks when there is such little information circulating about them. The USGS has begun experimenting with captive sea ducks to learn a little more about their life history. They are set up in large enclosures and are observed to see their techniques for feeding. However, more research still needs to be done. Since this group of waterfowl only accumulates to about 5% of the harvested waterfowl, they are typically not a high priority on conservation since little money is coming from them. The Sea Duck Joint Venture is trying to create partnerships in order to study and conserve these species. So far they are involved in about 129 different studies (and are no longer able to take on anymore). With these studies they are trying to learn how to best monitor the sea ducks and identify important areas in these ducks life such as breeding, molting, staging and wintering areas.