Baffin caribou slump top of mind at meeting in Nunavut’s capital

Elders, hunters, as well as land claim and wildlife groups, are meeting this week in Iqaluit to discuss the worrisome, but likely natural, decline in Baffin Island caribou. (PHOTO BY THOMAS ROHNER)

Barthelemey Nirlungayuk of Kugaaruk provides feedback at the Baffin Caribou Community Consultation Nov. 3 at Iqaluit’s Anglican Parish Hall. (PHOTO BY THOMAS ROHNER)

An aerial survey of Baffin Island’s caribou population, conducted earlier this year by Nunavut’s environment department, found higher numbers of caribou than first estimated, but careful management of the population is still crucial.

That is what three dozen wildlife experts — from Baffin hunters and trappers organizations and elders advisory committees to representatives from Nunavut’s environment department, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. and the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board — heard at the Anglican Parish Hall in Iqaluit Nov. 3.

“The total estimate for Baffin Island caribou is between 3,500 and 6,300,” Mitch Campbell, a researcher with Nunavut’s environment department, said at the Baffin caribou community consultation, adding that the results are thought to be 95 per cent accurate.

The meeting, organized to allow groups and individuals concerned about Baffin’s caribou population to brainstorm and discuss past, current and future conservation methods, runs Nov. 3 to Nov. 4.

Before final analysis of the survey, Nunavut’s environment department feared the total population was closer to 2,000 animals.

But even the upper range of more than 6,300 animals is far below the 60,000 to 180,000 estimated to have existed in 1991.

The territory’s environment department has said in the past that the sharp decline is not due to hunting, but likely part of a natural boom-bust cycle.

At the meeting, representatives broke into four groups early on in the meeting to address region-specific concerns, observations and suggestions.

Afterwards, the groups reconvened to summarize their discussions for the whole group.

Some trends emerged from their summaries, including:

• concern over selling caribou meat outside the Baffin region;

• a need for communities that hunt the same caribou herds to work together;

• limiting caribou harvests per individual or per household, as decided by local HTOs;

• transplanting caribou from other regions; and,

• the question of whether to manage Baffin’s caribou as one population, or several sub-populations.

Caribou on Baffin, according to the aerial survey, are heavily concentrated in South Baffin, where 3,000 to 6,000 caribou can be found. Prince Charles Isle alone had the densest concentration of caribou on Baffin, with 1,300 to 1,800 caribou identified in the survey.

Officials from the NWMB are only observing, not commenting, at the meeting, but will incorporate comments and suggestions into their management plan for Baffin caribou.

South Baffin MLA David Joanasie mentioned in the Nunavut legislature Oct. 24 that new management measures were necessary to protect the future of the Baffin herd.

He posed questions to Johnny Mike, environment minister, but Mike said he’s waiting on the outcome of this meetings, before finalizing a government strategy.