Hudson Strait now open to Nunavik beluga hunters

Nunavik’s Hudson Strait is now open again to beluga hunters.

From Sept. 1 to Nov. 30, Nunavik hunters can take up to 75 belugas from the Hudson Strait as part of the fall beluga hunting season, said a Sept.1 notice from the federal department of fisheries and oceans.

The fall quota varies from five to 12 belugas per Nunavik community, except for Umiujaq and Kujjuaraapik where hunters are supposed to look south for their belugas, to Long Island and the James Bay region.

Any remaining quotas from the spring or summer beluga hunt won’t carry over into the fall, the notice said – even though hunters only took 107 of the overall quota of 190 for all of Nunavik’s major beluga hunting areas, the Hudson Strait, Eastern Hudson Bay and Ungava Bay.

The Long Island and James Bay region remain open to beluga hunting, with a remaining quota of 31.

The Eastern Hudson Bay and Ungava Bay are now closed to beluga hunting, after hunters there went slightly over their summer quota.

The Nottingham, Salisbury and Ottawa islands and the Mucalic, Nastapoka and Little Whale River estuaries have remained closed all through the 2011 season.