Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

Gjoa Haven (Jan 28/02) - Gjoa Haven hunters may get to harvest polar bears sooner than expected in light of results from recent population studies.

Conducted by government scientists with the Department of Sustainable Development, the population assessments confirms that just 284 bears inhabit the M'Clintock Channel.

The news doesn't bode well for Gjoa Haven hunters. Until the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board put a moratorium into place last year, harvesters from the area hunted bears and guided for sport hunters.

Confirmation of the reduced population means the moratorium will likely continue well past this year.

However, study results also show the bears in the neighbouring Gulf of Boothia are significantly healthier than previously estimated.

The new estimate puts the number of bears in the area -- between Taloyoak and Iglulik -- at 1,500. Twenty years ago, scientists believed there were only 900.

The hamlets of Kuugaarjuk, Taloyoak, Repulse Bay, Hall Beach and Iglulik all hunt bears in the Gulf of Boothia, where the quota is 41 a year.

Sustainable Development Minister Olayuk Akesuk said because of the healthy new population estimate, the quota may increase. He also said it was possible the zone would be opened up and shared with Gjoa Haven hunters.

"There's a good chance the quota will increase, but we have to do community consultations to ensure there is good polar bear management for the future," said Akesuk.

"We'll listen to the communities, but we have to work together," he said.

Akesuk said the consultations are scheduled to begin in the spring. Officials are putting together management plans for both the M'Clintock Channel and the Gulf of Boothia.

"We'll know by the fall what we're going to do," said Akesuk."We hope to have an agreement with the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board on quotas and polar bear management by then."

Phillip Kadlun, the president of the Kitikmeot Hunters and Trappers Association, said the announcement could help Gjoa Haven. The hamlets of Taloyoak and Cambridge Bay were also affected by the M'Clintock moratorium, but both communities also hold quotas in other zones.

"It would help Gjoa Haven a lot. They're the ones the most affected," said Kadlun, from Kugluktuk.

He said it is within the association's mandate to lobby decision-makers to share the quota with that community. The matter will likely turn up on the regional wildlife organization's agenda later this year.

Akesuk also said he hopes to approach U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials in the hope that the area can be opened up to American sport hunters.

Twelve to 14 hunters used to visit M'Clintock Channel each year to harvest a trophy bear.