Crown ponders charges against beluga hunters

Any hunter who kills a beluga where whale hunting is banned will face the legal consequences, says the Department of Fisheries and Ocean.
“If they do that, then we will do what we have to. It’s unfortunate, but that’s how it is. There will be investigations, there will be questions asked, and cases will be prepared for the justice department. Then, it’s out of our hands,” Michel Tremblay, the regional director of the DFO’s aboriginal fisheries division, said in a telephone interview from Quebec City.

“We would rather find solutions, but there aren’t many alternatives.”

Since the DFO banned beluga hunting in the Hudson Strait after Aug. 22, because the zone’s yearly quota was filled, all coastal waters in Nunavik have been closed to hunting.

Under Canada’s Species at Risk Act, known as SARA, anyone convicted of illegal beluga hunting faces a maximum fine of either $50,000 or one year in jail if prosecuted via summary conviction.

Those prosecuted via indictment face a maximum fine of $250,000 or five year’s imprisonment.

SARA, which came into force in 2003, says any species listed as threatened or endangered must be protected through harvesting bans or mandatory recovery or action plans – and that these plans can be backed up by law enforcement.

Species are designated “at risk” by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, an independent body of experts that assesses wildlife according to a broad range of scientific data. The federal Cabinet then decides whether those species should be listed under SARA.

Both the Eastern Hudson Bay and Ungava Bay beluga populations are listed as endangered under SARA.

Tremblay said five cases of illegal beluga hunting in Nunavik from 2005 are already in lawyers’ hands.

The frustration is evident in Tremblay’s voice as he recounts the DFO’s efforts to co-manage the stocks and promote respect for beluga conservation measures, through consultations, meetings, research studies and even the production of a film.

“The Nunavik Beluga Management Plan is something that should be taken seriously. The law on endangered species exists,” Tremblay said. “We’ve given people time to understand what we’re doing in the North and to understand that if they don’t respect the management plan, in the future Inuit and their children won’t have access to beluga.”

Last week again in Iqaluit, at a joint Nunavut-Nunavik DFO coordination meeting, DFO researchers told representatives from Nunavik about the scientific data which shows the beluga numbers in Eastern Hudson Bay are nosediving and belugas in Ungava Bay are already near extinction.

They described how the remnants of these two stocks still migrate through the Hudson Strait, along with more numerous beluga populations.

Some Inuit have told Tremblay they agree with what the scientists say.

“There are Inuit who say yes, it’s true we see less than before, and there are Inuit who tell us that yes, in the past they used to pass more closely by the shore… But politically speaking, it’s not correct to say this,” said Tremblay.

To avoid conflict, Tremblay said hunters need to respect the beluga management plan. To reduce overhunting, he recommends Nunavik communities sit down and determine which ones are more in need of belugas.

“A community that has access to caribou, char and migratory birds could leave the belugas to other communities that don’t have access to these,” Tremblay said.

The current management plan is to be in force for two more years.

Tremblay said the non-compliance with the plan is a difficult situation for everyone.

“We’re not comfortable with it because we have no other choice than to oblige people to respect the regulations,” he said.