Holman gears up for busy season
Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services
Holman (Mar 05/01) - The first sport hunters have arrived, marking the official start of what promises to be a banner sport hunting season.
The prospect of hunting polar bear, muskox and caribou has attracted southern hunters, particularly from the United States, here each spring for decades. Few seasons have been busier than this year.
In all, 35 hunters will be coming for muskox and another 14 for polar bear, said Donald Inuktalik, president of Ulukhaktuk Adventures Ltd., corporate arm of the Holman Hunters and Trappers Association.
"We'll be busy for a while, probably until early May," said Inuktalik.
The community has a quota of 20 polar bears per year and splits them evenly between subsistence hunters and sport hunters. Every second year it has the right to take four additional bears from Wynniatt Bay, on the north coast of Victoria Island. Cambridge Bay sport hunters get the four bears in even years.
So far, only two of the 10 bears allotted for subsistence have been taken.
Employment opportunity
Because it is the adventure of a lifetime for most, hunters pay up to $10,000 for a 14-day polar bear hunt by dog team. The sport hunt is a rare chance for locals to have gainful employment.
"There's not too much to do, unless you work for the hamlet or the government," said Inuktalik. "We will employ at least 92 locals this year. Last year we had nine ladies. We have four taking part this year."
Though it is the southerners who pull the trigger, sport hunting also keeps alive some of the traditions of the community. Inuktalik said there were hardly any dog teams left in town before the hunt took hold. Now there are eight or nine.
When a polar bear is sighted, two or three specially trusted dogs in the team (regulations require all polar bear sport hunting be done by dog team) are released to chase and stop the bear while the hunter and guide catch up to it. The dogs have to be aggressive enough to stop the bear but smart enough to avoid injury.
This will also be the second year of summer sport hunting in the community. Last year, Ulukhaktuk offered muskox and caribou hunts by boat. It proved popular enough to continue this year.
Inuktalik said the hunters and trappers association is hoping to use the sport hunt as a way of growing Holman's tourism industry.
