NUNAVUT - Community consultations for Nunavut's caribou management strategy could begin this summer, said Government of Nunavut director of wildlife Drikus Gissing.

"Our hope is we will be able to conduct these regional consultations within the next three to four months," Gissing said.

The strategy has been in the works since 2007 when a draft plan was developed after a workshop with the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., the Nunavut Planning Commission, the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs and various representatives from the GN and Northwest Territories.

Gissing said the draft was then reviewed by Nunavut's Department of Sustainable Development and the Elders Advisory Committee.

The next step is to consult with Hunters and Trappers Organizations, Gissing said.

"We now have the go-ahead to take this draft document to consultation with numerous stakeholders in Nunavut, especially Inuit harvesters," he said.

The draft will be sent to each HTO in the territory, which will then review the document before consultations begin.

Gissing said stakeholders, including residents of the NWT will be invited to participate in the consultations.

A ban on hunting of the Bathurst caribou herd made by the government of the Northwest Territories in January means increased pressure on other herds shared by hunters in Nunavut and the NWT.

Finalizing Nunavut's caribou management strategy is vital to herds on both sides of the territorial border, GN biologist Mathieu Dumond said.

"Based on feedback of the various groups consulted and based on the requirement for management, a second draft will be produced which will hopefully rapidly develop into a final strategy," Dumond said.

When asked when the strategy is due to be complete Dumond said "hopefully soon, because the caribou situation requires some action."

Finalized data on the populations of the Bluenose-East, Dolphin and Union and Ahiak herds, which are shared by hunters in the NWT and Nunavut, do not exist, Dumond said.

A collaborative survey on the Bluenose-East herd between the NWT and Nunavut is also scheduled to take place this summer, he said.