IKPIARJUK/ARCTIC BAY - Sport outfitters will not be taking tourists out to hunt polar bears this season near Arctic Bay after the hunters and trappers organization voted to deny them quotas to leave more bears for residents.

Sport outfitter Damien Qaunaq of Maniituk Outfitting, right, takes a photo with a tourist and the polar bear they caught during last year's hunting season. The Ikajutit Hunters and Trappers Organization in Arctic Bay has chosen to deny polar bear quotas to outfitters this season to leave more bears for residents. - photo courtesy of Damien Qaunaq

"I don't have any idea what I'm going to do," said Damien Qaunaq, owner of Maniituk Outfitting, who has been in business for three years.

Qaunaq had applied for two quotas this season. He ran two successful hunts last year, including one with a tourist from France. Each hunt brought in approximately $25,000.

More than 150 people attended the meeting of the Ikajutit Hunters and Trappers Organization on Sept. 30. The HTO needed 21 per cent of the population to have the meeting and numbers well exceeded that requirement.

"This is the first time we've seen the sport hunt cancelled," said Levi Barnabas, secretary treasurer of the HTO.

Seven outfitters applied for 18 quotas out of 25 allotted to the community. The remaining quotas would be distributed through a lottery system.

Barnabas said before the vote there was a lengthy discussion about the pros and cons of having the sport hunt this year.

For many elders present, Barnabas said the matter was more personal, as they said many of the outfitters were hiring their own relatives.

When Qaunaq goes out on a hunt, he takes two helpers along for the 10 day trip. If a bear is not caught, the trip is extended.

"The community will lose a lot of money that would have gone to the Northern, the Co-op, the hotels, First Air and the local people," Qaunaq said, adding it will not only affect his community but the region as well.

Barnabas said he agreed and without a hunt there will be a large loss of income to the community, but that the HTO had to follow the people's decision.

Hunter Niore Iqalukjuak abstained from the vote as he said he could not decide. He said while the sport hunt brings money into the community, having more tags available means there is a better chance young hunters could catch their first polar bear.

"I took out one guy one time who had never caught a polar bear and it was a thrill to see the excitement on his face," said Iqalukjuak.

It was the same thrill and excitement of catching his first bear that Qaunaq said got him into the business of sports outfitting.

When he was younger, Qaunaq used to work for other outfitters or the HTO, taking out sport hunters. He got a dog sled team a couple years ago and started his own business.

While he said he thinks there are too many outfitters in the community, he said there should be more tags, given the size of the local polar bear population.

"We have polar bears everywhere now and we have problems with polar bears all year round," he said.

On Oct. 5, another public meeting was held, in which Qaunaq said the decision was disputed.

The chairman of the HTO could still call a public meeting to consider revoking the results of the vote.

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