Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services

NNSL (Feb 15/99) - Value of the North's fur production, based on auction-house results, fell 22 per cent last year compared to 1997, according to recently released Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development numbers.

PELT PRICE AVERAGES
	Number	Price	Avg$/pelt
polar bear	75	$71,019	$947
bl-br bear	48	$6,527	$136
beaver	2,497	$57,497	$23
coyote	6	$161	$10
ermine	255	$679	$3
fisher	16	$570	$36
white fox	5,052	$120,950	$24
cross fox	1,171	$29,914	$26
lynx	1,011	$91,510	$91
marten	9,382	$414,489	$44
mink	946	$22,462	$24
muskrat	26,503	$61,860	$2
otter	28	$1,700	$61
squirrel	933	$1,042	$1
wolf	840	$185,960	$221
wolverine	199	$34,864	$175
seal (all)	6,467	$190,753	$29
Source:RWED

The collapse of the Russian economy was likely a big factor in the decline. Russia is often a big buyer of fur.

"With Russia out of the market (that) changes everything," Francois Roussouw, Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development co-ordinator of fur management and traditional economy, said.

Late freeze-up and lack of snow early may also have been a factor. The weather conditions likely limited access and resulted in some trappers opting not to go out last fall.

Salaried jobs in the Liard, due to increased oil and gas activity, as well as jobs at Ekati have contributed to the declining number of trappers and therefore the number of pelts harvested.

Total value of pelts harvested in the NWT in 1998 was $1,292,463 compared to $1,667,487 in 1997.

Though total value of fur produced in the NWT last year was below the prior year, the total was higher than two years ago when $1,082,301 worth of pelts were sold at auction houses.

Roussouw also said the NWT numbers released need to be put in perspective.

The 1998 figures, like previous years, reflect auction-house results -- not the total number of animals harvested in each species.

NWT fur is often harvested but not sold to auction houses.

Hundreds of wolves taken in the NWT by Saskatchewan hunters are, for example, not included in the data.

"We'd like to use actual harvest figures, (we are) trying to analyze each community on what they actually take," he said.

RWED is attempting to come up with more comprehensive data on fur harvest, he said.

On trapper numbers, "we are losing some of the best, most ambitious harvesters," he said. "They are the best teachers."

Harvesters in the East outnumbered their western counterparts slightly.

In the West, 1,122 people were involved in fur harvesting while in the East, some 1,200 people participated in this sector of the North's economy.

Total number of fur harvesters -- 2,322 -- was down from 2,352 in the prior year (1,691 fur harvesters: 1996).

Marten remains the largest portion of the harvest when it comes to total value. Marten pelts fetched $414,489 but that total was down 31 per cent from the prior year's $602,090.

Total value of wolf fur was up 11 per cent at $185,960 compared to $167,855.

Prices for seal were similar to last year.

In the new western territory, 43,572 pelts worth $771,225 were harvested. In Nunavut, 11,995 pelts worth $521,238 were harvested.

Pelts taken in the West were 43,572 compared to 11,995 in the East.

Total pelts taken last year were 55,567.

RWED recently signed a deal with Montreal-based L'Heritage to market NWT wild fur.