NUNAVUT
Hunters and elders near the Davis Strait would like to see an increase in the polar bear quota because they say there are too many bears and it is dangerous for humans and the polar bear population itself.

Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. would like the management objectives for the Davis Strait polar bear population reviewed. From left are David Lee, biologist with Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. and Paul Irngaut, wildlife advisor with NTI's Department of Wildlife in Iqaluit on May 16. - Emily Ridlington/NNSL photo

"It's very daunting and we have a big battle ahead of us," said Laimee Nakasuk, a Pangnirtung elder who spoke at the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board hearing in Iqaluit on May 16 - 17.

The public hearing was to discuss changing the total allowable harvest for the Davis Strait polar bear population. The current base allocation for hunters in Davis Strait is 46 bears: 23 tags to Iqaluit, 19 to Pangnirtung and four to Kimmirut. The Qikiqtaaluk Wildlife Board is requesting an increase of 30 bears per year.

Mikidjuk Kolola said polar bears were few and far between in Kimmirut in the 1950s and 1960s.

"When I was a boy, there were no polar bears," he said.

The chairman of the Mayukalik Hunter and Trappers Organization said now bears come to the community and are not scared of humans. He said he wanted the wildlife management board to keep in mind polar bears eat a lot of seal and that Inuit also need seal.

Kootoo Shaw was attacked by a polar bear near Kimmirut in 2003 and another tourist was attacked in the last 10 years.

"Are we going to be reactive once a tourist or guide is killed?" he asked.

Iqaluit elder Jeetaloo Kakee said in the 1950s and 1960s hunters were able to have meat caches but now it is too dangerous as bears will "devour the meat."

"Polar bears are everywhere and you can't leave your rifle unloaded," said Joshua Kango.

Kango said none of the elders and members of his board can give an exact number of how many bears there are but they are concerned for the safety of Inuit.

Kango said having a lot of bears around could scare away tourists and younger hunters will be less keen to follow the quota system.

Kango, who is also a member of the Amarok Hunters and Trappers Association, said they are seeking 10 additional tags per year for hunters in the city.

The Government of Nunavut is recommending an increase of 15 bears annually to the Davis Strait population quota. Since the Nunatsiavut government in Northern Labrador is asking for six more bears a year, that would mean a nine bear increase split between Iqaluit, Pangnirtung and Kimmirut.

Studies on the population were done for the first time in the 1970s during the spring. Representatives from the GN said it was hard to work at that time of year because the bears were located on the pack ice beyond the floe edge and the bears were hard to spot. The study did not include all of the current Davis Strait area and estimated the population size at appropriately 900 bears.

The last survey was done in 2005 and finished in 2007. At that time the population estimate was at 2,158 bears. It was done in the fall for those three years.

"We try to capture every single bear we come across as long as it is safe to do so," said Steven Atkinson, interim polar bear biologist with the Nunavut Department of Environment.

Individuals at the hearing wanted to know where bears tagged in the survey were harvested.

Atkinson gave one example of a bear first caught in Pangnirtung which was eventually harvested in Labrador.

"The bears don't recognize boundaries ... they are not solid walls that stop bears."

While there may be a large number of bears now, he said there is no proof reproduction is occurring at high rates.

In a press release issue May 16, Nunavut Tunngavik stated it would like a review of the management objectives.

"Is the plan to grow the population indefinitely?" said Gabriel Nirlungayuk, director of wildlife and environment for NTI in an interview with News/North before the meetings started.

He estimates the total polar bear population including all 13 subpopulations is 14,000 to 16,000 bears.

Nirlungayuk said he would like the government to commit to make a decision.

The harvest season begins on July 1 so a decision has to be made by June 1.

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