Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

Gjoa Haven (May 13/02) - George Konana was excited about packing up his qamutik last weekend. For the first time in a year, he was preparing to go polar bear hunting for himself.

He'd been out for a few bears this past winter, but always as a guide for sport hunters in Kugluktuk.

"It was great because I didn't expect to get any bears this year. It was a good, good feeling," said Konana.

He and his son left home at 8 p.m. on Saturday night and returned the next afternoon with a three-metre-long male bear in tow. A few years back, they would have stayed closer to home and hunted in the M'Clintock Channel, but a moratorium was called when a scientific survey showed the Channel's population had shrunk to fewer than 300 bears.

Because the population is still healthy enough in the Gulf of Boothia to support a limited hunt -- some 1,500 bears roam the ice between Taloyoak and Iglulik -- Sustainable Development Minister Olayuk Akesuk and Nunavut Wildlife Management Board chair Ben Kovic announced May 1 that hunters from Gjoa Haven could take three bears from the area.

Hunters from Taloyoak and Cambridge Bay were also hurt by the M'Clintock Channel moratorium, but both communities can harvest bears in nearby zones. Gjoa Haven hunters suffered the most because they have no access to other populations.

Nearly 20 hunters expressed interest in the three tags so the Gjoa Haven Hunters and Trappers Association put the names into a hat.

"We had people calling way before the announcement. We kept telling people we're still waiting to hear," said Louis Kamookak, chair of the HTA.

Once it was decided who would do the hunting, the harvesters left Gjoa Haven for Taloyoak, where picked up local hunters to use as guides in the unfamiliar terrain.

Kamookak said all three hunters got their bears right away and returned by the end of the weekend to share the meat with the community. The local radio was busy last week with residents phoning in to thank the hunters for sharing their catch.

While hunters want to resume hunting in the M'Clintock Channel -- they're asking for two tags per year -- Kamookak said it was good of the department to provide a temporary Boothia quota in the meantime.

He said he hopes the results of a community-based traditional knowledge study will add to the government's scientific work to make population estimates more accurate. A report from a field study is expected to be made available this fall.

"We want to be involved in collecting data about the changes to the environment and what's happening with the bears in M'Clintock Channel," said Kamookak.

"The government is concerned about over-hunting, but the elders say it's about the changes that are happening."

Community consultations scheduled to take place this fall will examine the feasibility of Gjoa Haven hunters receiving a permanent quota in Boothia. Wildlife officials are also expected to review recently gathered information with the communities to develop a new management regime for the M'Clintock Channel and the Gulf of Boothia.