Coral Harbour (May 14/03) - The standards were raised during the annual Southampton Island commercial caribou harvest which ended this past month.

In addition to a record number of caribou being harvested this year, workers substantially raised the quality-control bar at the camp.

The harvest began in 1994 as a means of culling the Southampton herd, which was in danger of over-populating the island and destroying local habitat.

About 24 caribou were relocated to Southampton from Coats Island in 1966.

Today, the Southampton herd is estimated at close to 60,000 animals.

The annual harvest is operated by the Coral Harbour Development Corp.

The corporation's Richard Connelly said this year's harvest employed 68 Coral residents at its peak, 98 per cent of whom were Inuit.

"This was the first year more than 3,700 animals were harvested," said Connelly.

"If fact, 5,003 caribou were shot this year. That's a substantial increase and one we're quite pleased with."

The 5,003 caribou provided 114 kilograms of meat to be shipped from the camp to Kivalliq Arctic Foods in Rankin Inlet for final processing and distribution.

Connelly said a lot of extra work went into this year's camp, as quality-control standards were raised to meet the strict guidelines of European Union certification.

"This year was a bit of a logistical nightmare, but, I mean that in a good way.

"Once Kivalliq Arctic Foods gained its European Union certification, we had to change the way the animals were being harvested.

"Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) regulations were a lot stricter this year, so we had to put together a whole new camp, including changing how we process the meat.

"It was quite hair-raising at the beginning."

Connelly said overall cleanliness was greatly improved at the camp.

He said staff were no longer allowed to even move freely about the camp, as they were in the past.

"The abattoir had to be bigger and, even though similar equipment was used, the workers had to learn a different method of working with the meat to keep it as clean as possible."

A boost to local economy

The annual caribou harvest is extremely important to the Coral economy.

This year, the harvest employed 68 Coral residents at its peak, 98 per cent of whom were Inuit.

Connelly said almost $750,000 of direct-employment income for the community resulted from the work itself.

And, he adds, the majority of camp workers put in enough hours to qualify for Employment Insurance benefits.

"The camp is the biggest project of the year for Coral.

"Having said that, the main purpose of the harvest is still herd management."

The Nunavut government would like to see 75 per cent of the caribou harvested at the annual camp be female.

This year's camp obtained the best ratio ever for the hunt, with 60 per cent of the harvested caribou being female.

"The hunt has averaged around 40 per cent female kills in the past.

"We're closer to our target, but we still have a ways to go."

Schindel deserves credit

The Coral Harbour Development Corp. still has another year remaining on its contract to run the camp.

Connelly said everyone hired for the harvest has their own job, including three local managers.

A quality-control expert was brought in from Alberta this year to help with that aspect of the harvest.

There is also one veterinarian and two CFIA inspectors at the site at all times.

About 80 per cent of those employed at this year's camp returned from 2002.

"Brian Schindel at Kivalliq Arctic Foods deserves a lot of credit for the success of the annual hunt.

"He worked hard to get European Union certification and is continuing that effort in finding new markets for caribou products."