'It's good news,' Akulivik mayor proclaims

Nunavik's beluga hunters scored a major victory with the June 6 announcement of a bigger 2007 beluga quota and the re-opening of the Eastern Hudson and Ungava bays to limited beluga hunting.

"It's good news," said Eli Aullaluk, mayor of Akulivik, where hunters defied a ban on beluga hunting near the Eastern Hudson Bay community in 2006 to bring back four belugas.

Last month, the Lumaaq beluga management committee, with members from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Inuit wildlife management organizations in Nunavik and Nunavut, set Nunavik's 2007 quota at 204 belugas, an increase of 34 over the 2006 quota of 170.

"This agreement will assist in fulfilling a request made by many Nunavik communities to be allowed to hunt belugas near their home communities," says a Lumaaq news release.

For 2007, individual community quotas reflect both the size and location of communities. Quotas range from a low of six whales for tiny Aupaluk to 15 for the beluga-dependent Hudson Strait communities.

Hunters from the Ungava Bay and Eastern Hudson will still be obliged to travel to hunt for at least a portion of their beluga quotas.

But, for the first time in years, from July 1 to Aug. 31, hunters can take nine belugas in Ungava Bay, although the Mucalic estuary remains closed to all beluga hunting.

And hunters from the Eastern Hudson Bay will also be allowed to hunt 23 belugas along their coasts – with the exception of the Nastapoka and Little Whale river estuaries – before July 1 or in the fall.

The 2007 beluga management plan's other major changes include three pilot project hunts and the possibility for communities to split some hunts into seasons.

"The timing of certain hunts has been planned in order to permit a higher number of captures, while still ensuring continued protection of the Eastern Hudson Bay and Ungava Bay beluga populations, listed as endangered by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada," says the release.

Hunters from the Hudson Strait will be able to hunt five belugas during the winter under a pilot project, although the quota for other seasons is down to 120 from 135.

Hunters throughout Nunavik will be able to take 20 from Nottingham and Salisbury Islands from Sept. 1 to Nov. 30.

Changes are also in store for local hunting and trapping organizations, called Anguvigapiks, under the amended beluga management plan.

Before beluga hunters set out, the HTOs are to come up with a local plan and distribute tags. After the hunt, they must produce "mandatory tooth and skin samples" for each beluga and deliver these to the Nunavik research centre.

If communities goes over their quotas, the 2008 quota will be reduced by the same number to help ensure recovery of beluga stocks, says the DFO.

In 2006, hunters exceeded the Hudson Strait's quota of 135 belugas by 12 and by two in the Ungava Bay. The previous management plan said these belugas would be subtracted from this year's quota – and the quota of 120 set for the Hudson Strait in 2007, which is 15 lower than last year's, likely reflects this policy.

According to the 2007 plan, from July 1 to Aug. 31, Kangirsuk, Aupaluk, Tasiujaq and Kuujjuaq may each take one beluga from Ungava Bay, while in Kangiqsujalujjuaq hunters have a quota of five whales. These communities will also be allowed to hunt in the Hudson Strait, with quotas ranging from five belugas for Aupaluk to 13 for Kuujjuaq.

The Hudson Strait communities of Quaqtaq, Kangiqsujuaq, Salluit and Ivujivik can hunt 15 belugas each in the Hudson Strait during the spring and fall and share another five from Dec. 1 to March 31.

The Eastern Hudson Bay communities of Akulivik and Puvirnituq will split their hunt between two places. Akulivik has a quota of eight belugas from the Hudson Strait and four from the Eastern Hudson Bay. Puvirnituq has a quota of 11 from the Hudson Strait and three from the Eastern Hudson Bay.

In Inukjuak, hunters will split their beluga quota of 14, with seven coming from the Eastern Hudson Bay and seven from Long Island and James Bay. In Umiujaq, hunters are to take seven belugas from the Eastern Hudson Bay and five from Long Island and James Bay. In Kuujjuaraapik, hunters are to take only two belugas from the Eastern Hudson Bay and 10 from Long Island and James Bay.

The Eastern Hudson Bay communities will also be able to share a quota of five under an Ottawa Islands pilot project.

Three Nunavik hunters still face charges from killing belugas after the closing of the hunt in 2005. They were to appear in court sometime this month. Charges against seven hunters for over-hunting in 2006 were still under investigation, the DFO said earlier this year. Those charges are expected to be dropped, said mayors who were present at the recent Kativik Regional Government council meeting in Kangiqsualujjuaq.

At the regional council meeting, Adamie Kalingo, mayor of Ivujivik, was selected to serve on the Lumaaq beluga committee. Kalingo replaces the KRG's Sandy Gordon.