Land claims organization shops for bowhead gun

MIRIAM HILL

Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. is taking a shot at finding a new gun to use in the subsistence hunt of bowhead whales permitted by the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement.

Nunavut can hunt one bowhead whale every two years, and the modern hunt was launched in 1996 in Repulse Bay. In 1998, a whale was harvested near Pangnirtung, and Hall Beach/Igloolik held the most recent hunt in 2002.

Raymond Ningeotsiak, NTI’s second vice-president, said the gun used by the Hall Beach/Igloolik hunters was faulty and wasn’t able to fire off shots. Instead, the whale was caught traditionally using an Inuit harpoon, although rifle shots were also fired at it.

Ningeotsiak, who holds the organization’s wildlife portfolio, said NTI wants its equipment to be as modern as possible, so in the interests of changing with the times and avoiding conflict with the international environmental group Greenpeace, it is looking at buying a new gun.

At NTI’s board meeting in Cape Dorset last week, Ningeotsiak spoke to members about the options available. With the help of University of Alberta anthropologist and ecologist, Milton Freeman, Ningeotsiak said they located a business in British Columbia that sells guns for big game, such as narwhals and grey whales.

The company sells a 50-calibre gun with binocular piece and shoulder rest for about US$2,000. There is also a gun on the market called a 577, which Ningeotsiak said is favoured for big game hunting, but it costs about US$3,000 and he has yet to find a supplier.

Funding for a new gun is not coming solely from NTI, he said. The Nunavut government, the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board and other wildlife organizations are involved as well. The gun would be owned by NTI, but shared between all communities on a as-needed basis.

Ningeotsiak said there will be a new weapon for the next hunt, but where that will be remains undecided. Communities must submit applications or proposals for a hunt in the Foxe Basin region, which can sustain a harvest every two years. The Baffin Bay region cannot be harvested from for at least 13 years, he said, and the NWMB is conducting studies in Kitikmeot region waters, so a hunt won’t be allowed until research there is completed.