Coral Harbour records best
Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services
Coral Harbour (May 21/01) - The whirlwind of activity at the wildlife office this winter was a good sign for local trappers.
The nearly constant slam of the door kept Department of Sustainable Development wildlife officer Jonathan Pameolik more than busy processing all the white fox pelts coming in.
The best white fox trapping season in Coral Harbour in decades netted as many as 2,300 pelts for some 45 trappers who set lines over the winter.
Under the Nunavut government's Fur Price Program, which subsidizes hunters and trappers until pelts are sold at auction, Pameolik cut a total of $53,580 in cheques for trappers harvesting white fox.
"It was very, very busy," said Pameolik.
"It was pretty well unbearable for me in one sense. They were gathering up so quickly that I couldn't find the time to send them all away," he said.
Pameolik wants to spend the coming months getting ready for next winter because area trappers believe the season will be as good or better than the last one.
Pameolik said he'll use the organizational skills he picked up this year to run the office next winter.
"I learned how to deal with it and that will make it more efficient," he said.
Off to the auction
By using a set of techniques to grade the quality of the fox pelts, Pameolik determines which are of good quality and which are poor. He said trappers were advanced $25 for each good pelt under the Fur Price Program.
Once the skins are sold at the Western Canadian Raw Fur Auction in Vancouver -- they brought in $40.50 each at the February auction -- the government collects their advance of $25 and the balance is given to the trapper.
"In essence, it all goes to the trapper. We just provide the advance so they can continue to trap," said Pameolik.
Another auction is scheduled for May 20 and a third for the end of June. Pameolik said the best pelts were saved for last in the hopes that they'd bring in the most money.
"The majority of the highest-grade fox skins did not sell. They're waiting for higher prices," he said, estimating that they could go as high as $75 or $80 per pelt.
Money in his pocket
Louie Bruce, a skilled hunter and trapper in Coral Harbour, said the fox season brought much-needed extra income into his home. Bruce said when the season closed on April 15, he and his son managed to trap as many as 300 foxes using their combined 180 traps.
"That little bit of income helps us," said Bruce.
He attributed the rejuvenation of certain skills of Coral Harbour residents to the increased fox population and the resulting surge in trapping.
"You learn not only about trapping, but you'd go on the land and get experience in travelling," said Bruce.
He said he would spend the summer and fall buying more traps and getting ready for next season.
"We're looking forward to next year. We'll see what we can do," he said.
