'Special concern' label could trigger management plan

Polar bears face an uncertain future due to overhunting and climate change, says a federal committee that wants the animal listed as a species of special concern under Canada's Species At Risk Act.

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, or COSEWIC, made the announcement last week in Yellowknife.

The designation means they believe the animal is one step away from being threatened, and two steps from being endangered.

But before polar bears are added to the at risk list, the designation must first be approved by John Baird, the federal environment minister.

A decision is expected this summer, but Baird has already indicated he plans to act. He told reporters in Ottawa last week he's "committed to taking action to help turn this situation around."

But that may not mean much to Nunavut hunters. If bears become listed as a species of special concern, this may lead to a management plan being created.

But the hunting of bears in Nunavut is already managed by the distribution of hunting tags to local hunter and trapper organizations by the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board.

Of Canada's 13 subpopulations of polar bears, four are believed to be in decline. Three of those shrinking groups are in Nunavut.

In the Western Hudson Bay, the number of polar bears is believed to be decreasing because of shrinking sea ice. Bears use ice as platforms to hunt seals.

At Baffin Bay, off the northeast coast of Baffin Island, scientists say bears are in decline because of overhunting by Inuit from Nunavut and Greenland. Hunters from Baffin communities dispute this and say they've never seen so many bears before.

Kane Basin, halfway up Ellesmere Island, is the third subpopulation of bears that's in decline in Nunavut. These bears are primarily hunted by Greenlanders.

Canada also has four bear subpopulations that are believed to be stable, three subpopulations that are growing, and two with unknown status.

Because of the mixed health of polar bear populations, COSEWIC picked the special concern designation, rather than the most severe threatened and endangered designations.