DFO, Nunavik hunters sign beluga deal

IQALUIT — Nunavik has a plan to better manage its beluga population.

The new plan is a compromise between the demands of Nunavik hunters and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

The two groups have been at odds over how many whales live along the region’s coasts and how extensive the harvest should be.

The plan was signed in July by the fisheries department, although Fisheries Minister Herb Dhaliwal has yet to make it official.

It gives hunters what they asked for: more responsibility over how the beluga hunt is conducted.

According to the plan, communities are to organize the hunt, establish a code of conduct for hunters, improve communications between those involved in beluga management, and cooperate with fisheries guardians and scientists in the reporting and sampling of kills.

If they don’t, the DFO is ready to move in.

“Actions to ensure compliance with the management plan and applicable regulations will be taken as necessary,” the document cautions.

The plan may be stern, but it offers flexibility, too. While the former management plan was in effect for five years, this one has a lifespan of only three – and it can even be changed even earlier, if desired.

The plan is based on broad “conservation concerns.” These include the protection of calves and juvenile whales, the prevention of wastage and overhunting, as well as the sound management of the beluga population.

For each concern, there’s a matching measure.

“The catch must be directed to adult males,” reads one of the foremost measures.
Another states: “Killing of either whale of a female-calf pair must be restricted to situations where it is absolutely necessary to prevent starvation.”

According to a study by DFO and the Makivik Research Centre, females haven’t been spared in the hunt.

The study also shows that the average age at which whales are harvested is decreasing. That may mean older males have already been killed off. If more females and juveniles aren’t spared, the breeding population could be wiped out.
The Committee on the Status of Endangered Species in Canada already lists the beluga stock in Eastern Hudson Bay as “threatened” with extinction.

It says whales in Ungava Bay are endangered, although many hunters dispute that claim.

In the plan, the DFO promises to conduct aerial surveys each August to see how many beluga there are.

Despite uncertainty over the size of the population, Nunavik hunters made it clear during consultations earlier this year that they want a larger hunt.

According to the new management plan, Nunavik’s total harvest will increase from 290 to 370 beluga.

Hunters also didn’t want any more community quotas.

Instead, there’s now a “total allowable catch” for each of the region’s three zones: Eastern Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay. There are flexible allocations within these zones for every community.

While the previous plan set a limit of 18 beluga per community in Eastern Hudson Bay, and 10 per community in Ungava Bay, these communities now get 25 beluga each.

While Hudson Strait communities previously had a quota of 25 beluga, hunters in Ivujivik, Salluit, Kangiqsujuaq and Quaqtaq can now hunt 30.

The allowable catch is up, but the new plan also places new constraints on where and how the beluga can be hunted.

For instance, the plan asks hunters to cut down on netting beluga. It also asks them to harpoon the belugas before shooting them.

To cut down on wastage, hunters and communities are to develop a system for dealing with surplus muktuk and meat.

And hunters are supposed to “share” whale parts, not sell them.

“The commercial use of whale parts is prohibited in Canada,” the plan reads. “The belugas are for food, social and ceremonial purposes.”

Hunters are told to avoid whaling in Ungava Bay at all times and to limit hunting in the Hudson Strait during the spring and fall.

In Eastern Hudson Bay, a maximum of 15 belugas can be killed in the Nastapoka and Little Whale Estuaries. Hunters there are also are asked to travel to James Bay for 30 of their zone’s total allowable catch.