Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Aug 06/01) - Narwhal hunters are on the home stretch of a three-year pilot project designed to perfect community-based management.

To ensure the hunting season is successful, and avoid repeating last year's excessive harvests, Nunavut wildlife officials are visiting participating hamlets to ensure everyone understands the principles behind the new management scheme.

Community-based management of narwhal hunts first came about in 1997 when a group of interested parties formed the Narwhal Working Group. They replaced quotas set by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans with a non-quota system overseen by local hunters and trappers associations.

With the approval of the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board and DFO, the communities harvesting the most narwhals had the opportunity to regulate the hunts themselves.

Repulse Bay, Pond Inlet and Qikiqtarjuaq began harvesting under the new system in 1999. Arctic Bay and Kugaaruk/Pelly Bay joined this year.

"The communities hadn't been visited during or prior to the hunts. The only time we've been going to the communities was after the hunts," explained Glenn Williams, the wildlife adviser at Nunavut Tunngavik.

Along for the most recent trip to Pond Inlet and Arctic Bay, where hunters were given the chance to clear up misconceptions and ask any final questions, Williams explained the proactive approach being taken this season.

"Instead of being reactive, we decided to go in and show the HTAs support for what they're doing," he said.

Changes made

Ben Kovic, who chairs of the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board, also made the journey. He noted the importance of the final "grading" year of the system and said he is confident hunters understand how community-based management works in modern Inuit society.

"They're more informed and they've learned how to plan for the season," he said.

Kovic said Inuit traditionally used community-based management when harvesting, but switched to government-imposed quotas in 1975, when DFO took over.

Hunters are now more familiar with the new system and in cases like Qikiqtarjuaq -- where the hunt was shut down by DFO last October because of the dangerously high number of narwhals harvested -- changes have been made to the bylaws at the community level to prevent a repeat of the situation.

Both Kovic and Williams said they are optimistic about the pending harvest.

"We've come a long way," said Williams. "A three-year period of trying to do something that's radically different, you've got to give it some time. That's what's encouraging. The communities are getting a sense of what they can do and how this can work."

Once all five communities have wrapped up their hunts this year, Kovic said the harvest numbers would be compiled and sent to DFO for analysis.

The data will then go back to the Nunavut wildlife board for review.

"There needs to be a decision about whether this should continue or not," said Kovic.

In keeping with the emphasis on the need for community involvement in such matters, Williams suggested that all interested parties meet after the third year to discuss "what worked, what didn't work, what the deficiencies were and if it's going to continue, what is recommended."

He said he plans to formally pitch the idea at the board's meeting in September. That would allow for any changes to be implemented prior to next year's narwhal harvest.