Editing Narwhal (section)

== Conservation ==
The narwhal is listed as a species of [[least concern]] by the [[IUCN Red List]]. As of 2017, the global population is estimated to be 123,000 mature individuals out of a total of 170,000. There were about 12,000 narwhals in Northern Hudson Bay in 2011, and around 49,000 near [[Somerset Island (Nunavut)|Somerset Island]] in 2013. There are approximately 35,000 in [[Admiralty Inlet]], 10,000 in Eclipse Sound, 17,000 in [[Baffin Bay|Eastern Baffin Bay]], and 12,000 in [[Jones Sound]]. Population numbers in [[Smith Sound]], [[Inglefield Bredning]] and [[Melville Bay]] are 16,000, 8,000 and 3,000, respectively. There are roughly 800 narwhals in the waters off Svalbard.<ref name="IUCN2017" />

In the 1972 [[Marine Mammal Protection Act]], the United States banned imports of products made from narwhal parts.<ref name="IUCN2017" /> They are listed on Appendix II of the [[Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora]] (CITES) and [[Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals]] (CMS). These committees restrict international trading of live animals and their body parts, as well as implementing sustainable action plans.<ref name="IUCN2017" /><ref name="CITES" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Fact sheet narwhal and climate change{{!}} CITES |url=https://www.cms.int/sites/default/files/publication/fact_sheet_narwhal_climate_change.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126013159/https://www.cms.int/sites/default/files/publication/fact_sheet_narwhal_climate_change.pdf |archive-date=26 January 2024 |access-date=21 January 2024 |website=cms.int}}</ref> The species is classified as special concern under the [[Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada]] (COSEWIC), which aims to classify the risk levels of species in the country.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lukey |first1=James R. |last2=Crawford |first2=Stephen S. |date=June 2009 |title=Consistency of COSEWIC species at risk designations: freshwater fishes as a case study |url=http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/10.1139/F09-054 |journal=Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences |language=en |volume=66 |issue=6 |pages=959–971 |doi=10.1139/F09-054 |bibcode=2009CJFAS..66..959L |issn=0706-652X}}</ref>

In 2025 the United Kingdom protected narwhals under the Ivory Act, which forbids trade in teeth and tusks except for "artistic and cultural artifacts."<ref name="ivory">{{Cite web |date=2025-01-28 |title=Ivory Act protections come into force for four more species |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ivory-act-protections-come-into-force-for-four-more-species |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref><ref name="ivbbvc">{{Cite web |date=2025-01-28 |title=UK Ivory Act: Ban extended to protect hippos and some whales |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/articles/c17e9jxyq4no |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=BBC Newsround |language=en-GB}}</ref>

=== Threats ===

[[File:Belugas+Narwhals.png|thumb|Beluga and narwhal catches (1954–2014)|alt=Data showing the number of caught belugas and narwhals from 1954 to 2014. Belugas were reported from the US, Russia, Canada and Greenland, while narwhals were recorded from Canada and Russia.|upright=1.4]]

Narwhals are hunted for their skin, [[whale meat|meat]], teeth, tusks and [[Scrimshaw|carved vertebrae]], which are commercially traded. About 1,000 narwhals are killed per year: 600 in Canada and 400 in Greenland. Canadian catches were steady at this level in the 1970s, dropped to 300–400 per year in the late 1980s and 1990s and have risen again since 1999. Greenland caught more, 700–900 per year, in the 1980s and 1990s.<ref>{{Citation |last=Witting |first=Lars |title=Meta population modelling of narwhals in East Canada and West Greenland – 2017 |date=10 April 2017 |url=https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/059691v4 |access-date=14 February 2024 |language=en |doi=10.1101/059691 |s2cid=89062294}}</ref>

In Canada and Greenland, Narwhal tusks are sold both carved and uncarved.<ref name="hoover" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Greenfieldboyce, Nell |date=19 August 2009 |title=Inuit hunters help scientists track narwhals |url=https://www.npr.org/2009/08/19/111980557/inuit-hunters-help-scientists-track-narwhals |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161024220450/http://www.npr.org/2009/08/19/111980557/inuit-hunters-help-scientists-track-narwhals |archive-date=24 October 2016 |access-date=24 October 2016 |work=NPR.org |publisher=National Public Radio}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite journal |last=Heide-Jørgensen |first=Mads P. |date=22 April 1994 |title=Distribution, exploitation and population status of white whales (''Delphinapterus leucas'') and narwhals (''Monodon monoceros'') in West Greenland |url=https://tidsskrift.dk/meddrgroenland_biosci/article/view/142541 |journal=Meddelelser om Grønland. Bioscience |language=en |volume=39 |pages=135–149 |doi=10.7146/mogbiosci.v39.142541 |issn=0106-1054}}</ref> Per hunted narwhal, an average of one to two vertebrae and teeth are sold.<ref name="hoover" /> In Greenland, the skin ({{lang|iu|[[muktuk]]}}) is sold commercially to [[Fish factory|fish factories]],<ref name=":9" /> and in Canada to other communities.<ref name="hoover" /> Based on an analysis of 2007 narwhal hunts in Hudson Bay, a 2013 paper estimated that gross revenue per narwhal was {{CAD|6542}} (US${{To USD round|6542|CAN|year=2007}}). Hunts receive [[subsidies]], but they continue mainly to support tradition, rather than for profit. Economic analysis noted that [[whale watching]] may be an alternate source of revenue.<ref name="hoover">{{Cite journal |last1=Hoover |first1=C. |last2=Bailey |first2=M. L. |last3=Higdon |first3=J. |last4=Ferguson |first4=S. H. |last5=Sumaila |first5=R. |date=2013 |title=Estimating the economic value of narwhal and beluga hunts in Hudson Bay, Nunavut |url=https://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/wurpubs/437695 |journal=Arctic |publisher=Arctic Institute of North America |volume=66 |issue=1 |pages=1–16 |doi=10.14430/arctic4261 |issn=0004-0843}}</ref>

As narwhals grow, [[bioaccumulation]] of heavy metals takes place within their bodies.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last1=Wagemann |first1=R. |last2=Snow |first2=N. B. |last3=Lutz |first3=A. |last4=Scott |first4=D. P. |date=9 December 1983 |title=Heavy metals in tissues and organs of the narwhal (''Monodon monoceros'') |url=http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/10.1139/f83-326 |journal=Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences |language=en |volume=40 |issue=S2 |pages=s206–s214 |doi=10.1139/f83-326 |bibcode=1983CJFAS..40S.206W |issn=0706-652X}}</ref> It is thought that [[ocean pollution|pollution in the ocean]] is the primary cause of bioaccumulation in marine mammals; this may lead to health problems for the narwhal population.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Bouquegneau |first1=Krishna Das |title=Heavy metals in marine mammals |date=2003 |work=Toxicology of Marine Mammals |pages=147–179 |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.1201/9780203165577-11/heavy-metals-marine-mammals-krishna-das-virginie-debacker-st%C3%A9phane-pillet-jean-marie-bouquegneau |access-date=4 February 2024 |publisher=CRC Press |doi=10.1201/9780203165577-11 |isbn=978-0-429-21746-3 |hdl=2268/3680 |last2=Debacker |first2=Virginie |last3=Pillet |first3=Stéphane Jean-Marie |hdl-access=free}}</ref> When bioaccumulating, numerous metals appear in the blubber, liver, kidney and musculature. A study found that the blubber was nearly devoid of these metals, whereas the liver and kidneys had a dense concentration of them. Relative to the liver, the kidney has a greater concentration of [[zinc]] and [[cadmium]], while [[lead]], [[copper]] and [[mercury (metal)|mercury]] were not nearly as abundant. Individuals of different weight and sex showed differences in the concentration of metals in their organs.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dietz |first1=R. |last2=Riget |first2=F. |last3=Hobson |first3=K. |last4=Heidejorgensen |first4=M. |last5=Moller |first5=P. |last6=Cleemann |first6=M. |last7=Deboer |first7=J. |last8=Glasius |first8=M. |date=20 September 2004 |title=Regional and inter annual patterns of heavy metals, organochlorines and stable isotopes in narwhals (''Monodon monoceros'') from West Greenland |url=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2004.03.041 |journal=Science of the Total Environment |volume=331 |issue=1–3 |pages=83–105 |bibcode=2004ScTEn.331...83D |doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2004.03.041 |issn=0048-9697 |pmid=15325143}}</ref>

Narwhals are one of the Arctic marine mammals most vulnerable to [[climate change]] due to sea ice decline,<ref name="Laidre2008" /> especially in their northern wintering grounds such as the Baffin Bay and Davis Strait regions. Satellite data collected from these areas shows the amount of sea ice has been markedly reduced from what it was previously.<ref name=":10">{{Cite journal |last1=Laidre |first1=Kristin L. |last2=Heide-Jørgensen |first2=Mads Peter |date=10 February 2011 |title=Life in the lead: extreme densities of narwhals (''Monodon monoceros'') in the offshore pack ice |url=https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v423/p269-278/ |journal=Marine Ecology Progress Series |language=en |volume=423 |pages=269–278 |bibcode=2011MEPS..423..269L |doi=10.3354/meps08941 |issn=0171-8630}}</ref> It is thought that narwhals' foraging ranges reflect patterns they acquired early in life, which improves their capacity to obtain the food supplies they need for the winter. This strategy focuses on strong [[site fidelity]] rather than individual-level responses to local prey distribution, resulting in focal foraging areas during the winter. As such, despite changing conditions, narwhals will continue to return to the same areas during migration.<ref name=":10" />

Reduction in sea ice has possibly led to an increased exposure to predation. In 2002, hunters in [[Siorapaluk]] experienced an increase in the number of caught narwhals, but this increase did not seem to be linked to enhanced endeavour,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kovacs |first1=Kit M. |last2=Lydersen |first2=Christian |last3=Overland |first3=James E. |last4=Moore |first4=Sue E. |date=1 March 2011 |title=Impacts of changing sea-ice conditions on Arctic marine mammals |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-010-0061-0 |journal=Marine Biodiversity |language=en |volume=41 |issue=1 |pages=181–194 |bibcode=2011MarBd..41..181K |doi=10.1007/s12526-010-0061-0 |issn=1867-1624}}</ref> implying that climate change may be making the narwhal more vulnerable to hunting. Scientists recommend assessing population numbers, assigning sustainable [[catch share|quotas]], and ensuring local acceptance of sustainable development. [[Seismic survey]]s associated with [[oil exploration]] disrupt the narwhal's normal migration patterns. These disturbed migrations may also be associated with increased sea ice entrapment.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Heide-Jørgensen |first1=Mads Peter |last2=Hansen |first2=Rikke Guldborg |last3=Westdal |first3=Kristin |last4=Reeves |first4=Randall R. |last5=Mosbech |first5=Anders |date=February 2013 |title=Narwhals and seismic exploration: is seismic noise increasing the risk of ice entrapments? |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=158 |pages=50–54 |bibcode=2013BCons.158...50H |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2012.08.005 |issn=0006-3207 |doi-access=free}}</ref>