NTI opposed to “red-listing” of polar bears

I am writing to respond to the article, “Vulnerable” polar bears make danger list” (Nunatsiaq News, May 5, 2006).

Though Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. does not take exception to your accurate reporting, we do oppose the World Conservation Union’s decision to list polar bears as a vulnerable species on their red list.

It should be noted that the recent designation of polar bears as “vulnerable” was initiated because of a change in the criteria and categories for the group’s threatened species system, not because of a change in the polar bear population. The World Conservation Union’s previous assessment of polar bears as conservation-dependent no longer exists.

As mentioned in your article, only one criterion was used to qualify polar bears as vulnerable — a prediction that the global polar bear population will experience a 30 per cent reduction in approximately 45 years because of a decline in the Arctic ice.

There is no evidence provided in the reassessment to support the conclusion that polar bear populations will experience a population decline. On the contrary, according to a 2005 Government of Nunavut survey, certain Nunavut polar bear populations, such as the Davis Strait population, appear to be extremely abundant.

The statement that “Other threats to the polar bear’s survival include over-harvesting ‘due to increased quotas or no quotas in Canada and Greenland,’” does not recognize that one of the best managed and most regulated polar bear management systems in the world is in place in Nunavut.

The polar bear quota system was introduced in 1967 to address conservation concerns when snowmobiles were introduced, and the harvest increased from an annual average of 450 bears to approximately 700 bears. The initial quota was conservatively established at a value of 350 bears in 1967 and was steadily increased to over 500 bears in the early 1980s. The quota was again reduced to 403 bears in 1986, and increased in 2005 to 518 bears.

Only recently was Nunavut’s quota returned to historical harvest levels after careful scrutiny by scientists, users and wildlife managers. The increase is in accordance with acceptable harvesting levels, and allows harvesters to take bears without the risk of population decline, while still respecting the principles of conservation.

Raymond Ningeocheak
Second Vice-President
Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.