Manitoba pitches protection plan for Hudson Bay belugas

Beluga whales spotted from the air in Hudson Bay. (PHOTO FROM MANITOBA BELUGA STRATEGY)

The Government of Manitoba has drafted an action plan to help conserve the world’s largest beluga population, which summers in the province’s northern river estuaries off Hudson Bay.

An estimated 57,000 belugas spend their summers within the estuaries of Manitoba’s Churchill, Nelson and Seal rivers to give birth and raise their young.

Because beluga populations are so difficult to count, that number is a rough estimate. The summer population of beluga off Manitoba could range between 41,000 and 91,000 animals, the report said.

Given these whales’ northern range, which extends well into Nunavut and Nunavik, the new plan could lead to better marine conservation in Arctic regions.

“We need to work together with all our partners, communities and First Nations to ensure we do all we can to protect this important habitat,” said Manitoba’s conservation minister, Tom Nevakshonoff, in a Jan. 8 release.

“We want to see the population thrive and ensure future generations have a chance to see these majestic creatures in their natural environment.”

Belugas were listed as a species of special concern under the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada in 2004.

In Nunavut and Nunavik, the whales are harvested by Inuit, in some places under a quota system managed by the federal department of Fisheries and Oceans, in co-operation with bodies like the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board and Inuit hunter and trapper associations.

Manitoba’s plan, which has yet to be approved, hopes to protect belugas from threats created by pollution, ship traffic and hydro-electric projects.

And the province says it will do that by proposing new parks and wetland protection for its northern regions, developing marine traffic and pollutant management plans, as well as conducting better research into beluga habitat.

For the World Wildlife Fund-Canada and its Arctic conservation program, the key action in Manitoba’s plan is the government’s push to see marine habitat protected — a commitment made by the new federal Liberal government.

“Why we’re really excited is because the provincial government has taken this issue in hand and called out to the federal government,” said WWF’s Paul Crowley.

“This is the first step… and we’re keen on the additional federal protection.”

The Trudeau government has set a goal of protecting 10 per cent of marine and coastal areas by 2020, under Parks Canada’s National Marine Conservation Area program.

It’s an ambitious goal, Crowley said, but one he says will benefit Nunavut.

Marine areas that make up beluga habitat, many of which have been identified for protection for many years, may finally get that protection, including areas like Lancaster Sound and other parts of the Canadian Arctic further that are considered the “Last Ice Area.”

Protecting marine habitats will not only benefit the health of the ecosystem, but also Inuit communities, Crowley said.

First Nations groups in Manitoba no longer harvest belugas, but beluga-related tourism in northern Manitoba is now estimated to bring in $5.6 million annually.

Inuit from Nunavut and Nunavik continue to harvest Hudson Bay belugas.

Manitoba Beluga Habitat Plan by NunatsiaqNews