GN raises Baffin Island caribou quota to 6,000
Decision comes after herd population estimated to be nearly 49,000, up from 4,600 a decade ago
The caribou population on Baffin Island is making a strong recovery after collapsing over several decades, researchers say. (File photo)
The number of caribou that hunters will be allowed to harvest this season on Baffin Island has jumped dramatically following substantial growth in the animal’s estimated population.
The prior hunting restriction of 550 caribou per season has now been raised to 6,000, the Nunavut Government announced Aug. 13 in a news release.
That amounts to approximately 12 per cent of the estimated population there.
This decision goes against a recommendation from researchers inside of Nunavut’s Department of Environment, who proposed a five per cent harvest rate instead, according to a report on caribou abundance estimates published in December 2025.
There was a moratorium in 2015 on barrenland caribou hunting in Baffin Island, after surveys the year prior found the population had fallen to around 4,600. Previous estimates dating from the 1980s had placed numbers at an estimated 150,000.
Current estimates place the Baffin Island barrenland caribou population at nearly 49,000.
Under the new rules, wildlife authorities are also no longer placing any limits on the number of female caribou that can be harvested in the region. Previously, female caribou could only take up 20 per cent of all harvests, and hunting females with calves was banned.
In 2025, Department of Environment researchers had recommended against that, arguing hunting limits placed on female caribou and calves should be maintained. Their research was based on recent aerial surveys.
The current caribou hunting season on Baffin Island began on July 1 and will last until June 30, 2027.
The Nunavut Wildlife Management Board agreed to increase the harvest to 6,000 caribou on June 25 after the government submitted a request that recommended the change.
The Environment Department could not be reached for comment on this story.
The board spoke with Government of Nunavut researchers, the Qikiqtaaluk Wildlife Board, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, and hunters and trappers organizations in Igloolik, Kinngait and Pangnirtung, according to board documents.
Some members had, however, expressed concerns allowing 12 per cent of the population to be hunted could pose “an unusual and largely unprecedented level of risk” to the caribou in Baffin Island.
“Board members noted that this harvest rate is high compared with other Nunavut caribou herds,” board chairperson Daniel Shewchuk wrote to Brian Koonoo, Nunavut’s environment minister.
The Nunavut Wildlife Management Board did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
Under the new rules, caribou hunters are also no longer being asked to submit samples of their game to their local wildlife office or hunting and trapping organization. They are just asked to report how many they harvested.
Each hunting and trapping organization is responsible for allocating the share of the caribou hunting tags within their communities.
Hunters should keep an eye out and report any weird signs of waste or disease immediately if found.
When I was younger and hunting in Iqaluit, we would sometimes encounter scenes of 3-5 caribou who were shot, but then we’re just left to rot with the antlers or head missing, like someone was game hunting.
Prion disease is definitely something to watch out for, which cannot be killed by cooking and makes the animal act out-of-character and strange. Definitely don’t eat it or feed it to the dogs, and make sure to bring samples to the Hunters and Trappers Organization.
Personally, I would have rolled out this plan with the HTO’s controlling the tags with a 50/50 split on the animal to the community and the hunter. Hunter gets half, the community gets half.
Then lower income or non-humting families can receive caribou from the HTO’s inventory.
But, there was a mine, mining away all this time!? How is this possible?