The Sea Duck Joint Venture supports conservation through science.

Photo: Tim Bowman/USFWS

Sea ducks are a unique group of birds of arctic and coastal habitats.

Photo: Tim Bowman

Numbers of many sea ducks are declining.

Photo: Ron Knight

Two sea duck populations are listed as Threatened in the US and two are Species of Special Concern in Canada.

Photo: Mark Lindberg/USFWS

The Sea Duck Joint Venture provides funding to partners in support of sea duck research and monitoring.

Photo: Mike Peters

Sea ducks reflect the health of coastal areas.

Photo: Mike Peters

The SDJV’s Key Sites Habitat Atlas identifies the most important habitats for sea ducks in North America.

Photo: Lisa Hupp/USFWS

Satellite tracking has shown that some North American sea ducks winter in Greenland, Russia, and Japan.

Photo: Tim Bowman

Sea ducks are sensitive to human disturbance and coastal development.

Photo: Mike Peters

SDJV promotes science to help make better decisions about conservation and management.

Photo: Ted Swem

The Sea Duck Joint Venture supports conservation through science.

Photo: Tim Bowman/USFWS

Sea ducks are a unique group of birds of arctic and coastal habitats.

Photo: Mark Lindberg/USFWS

Numbers of many sea ducks are declining.

Photo: Tim Bowman/USFWS

Two sea duck populations are listed as Threatened in the US and two are Species of Special Concern in Canada.

Photo: Mark Lindberg/USFWS

The Sea Duck Joint Venture provides funding to partners in support of sea duck research and monitoring.

Photo: Tim Bowman/USFWS

Sea ducks reflect the health of coastal areas.

 

The SDJV’s Key Sites Habitat Atlas identifies the most important habitats for sea ducks in North America.

Photo: Tim Bowman/USFWS

Satellite tracking has shown that some North American sea ducks winter in Greenland, Russia, and Japan.

Photo: Tim Bowman/USFWS

Sea ducks are sensitive to human disturbance and coastal development.

Photo: Tim Bowman/USFWS

SDJV promotes science to help make better decisions about conservation and management.

Photo: Tim Bowman/USFWS

Sea ducks are a large group of waterfowl that, relative to other waterfowl species, we know little about. Some sea duck populations are declining or have lower numbers than they did historically, and they depend on sensitive coastal, arctic, and boreal habitats throughout the continent.

The Sea Duck Joint Venture

We are a bi-national conservation partnership of organizations committed to maintaining sustainable populations of North American sea ducks throughout their ranges.

We promote the conservation of North American sea ducks through partnerships by providing greater knowledge and understanding for effective population and habitat conservation and management.

Sea Duck Joint Venture Partner Organizations

Ducks Unlimited Canada

News

SDJV Student Fellowship Feature: Reyd Dupuis-Smith, Polycyclic Aromatic Compound (PAC) contamination and health implications in common eider ducks at a diesel spill site and a reference site in Nunatsiavut, Canada

SDJV Student Fellowship Feature: Reyd Dupuis-Smith, Polycyclic Aromatic Compound (PAC) contamination and health implications in common eider ducks at a diesel spill site and a reference site in Nunatsiavut, Canada

Reyd holding a King Eider.  Reyd Dupuis-Smith, a 2022 SDJV Student Fellowship Awardee, has dedicated her studies to understanding how anthropogenic factors and pollution impact birds of all kinds. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Manitoba,...

2024 Sea Duck Joint Venture Research Projects

2024 Sea Duck Joint Venture Research Projects

Black Scoter at Izembek NWR, Photo: Kristine Sowl, USFWS We’re thrilled to announce our 2024 Research Projects, a group of five research projects submitted as part of our annual RFP. The Sea Duck Joint Venture aims to fund projects that will provide information on sea...

Congratulations to the 2024 Student Fellowship Awardees! Learn more about the students who will move sea duck conservation forward with their work

Congratulations to the 2024 Student Fellowship Awardees! Learn more about the students who will move sea duck conservation forward with their work

Now in its second year, the fellowship program was created with the goal of increasing the number of skilled early career professionals interested in sea duck conservation. Student projects may cover any aspects of sea duck management, conservation, and science, and this year’s group is doing so while employing new and innovative ideas all across North America. We can’t wait to see what they discover!

Data and Ducks: Developing and compiling transboundary avian data for sea ducks in the Salish Sea

Data and Ducks: Developing and compiling transboundary avian data for sea ducks in the Salish Sea

In 2020, a Birds Canada paper detailing 20 years of sea duck population trends in the Salish Sea revealed some unsettling news – many species were currently or had been experiencing population declines. Between 1999 and 2019, White-winged scoters experienced a 4.3% population decline per year, while Black scoters experienced a 15% decline per year, and Long-tailed Ducks a 5% decline per year in the same period. The challenges of understanding and addressing these dramatic population decreases were compounded by a lack of cross-border baseline data on many of the species, making it hard to truly assess the causes and timing of the declines.