Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

Iglulik (July 01/02) - The pressure is on for the communities of Iglulik and Hall Beach as they try to develop a plan for the 2002 harvest of a bowhead whale.

Earlier this year, when Fisheries Minister Robert Thibault gave his nod of approval for the harvest to take place either in 2002 or 2003, the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board turned the decision over to the regional wildlife organizations to choose which community would conduct the hunt.

While the hamlet of Rankin Inlet expressed interest in hosting the harvest, hunters there did not submit a formal proposal.

A combined team from Iglulik and Hall Beach did, however, throw in a proposal for consideration. Those hunters learned recently their bid was conditionally accepted by wildlife officials who make up Nunavut's wildlife policy advisory committee.

The chairs of the territory's three regional wildlife organizations and a representative from Nunavut Tunngavik's executive make up the committee.

Bert Dean, Nunavut Tunngavik's director of wildlife, said the communities have until July 15 to submit a detailed plan for hunting the whale.

NTI, alongside NWMB, the Qikiqtaaluk Wildlife Board and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans will all play supportive and monitoring roles during the planning and harvesting process.

"What came from (the committee) is that if they do it this summer, they need a hunt plan, a budget -- where they're expecting to get their funding -- from because it's not like these things happen for free," said Dean.

"They need to talk about equipment, there are training issues around the hunt and the (weapon)," he added. "Before we said you have the hunt, we said we want to see these things in place."

Dean said that the communities have already done a significant amount of work on the plan, including picking a site.

Though the species is considered endangered and protected by the new federal Species at Risk Act, a provision for hunting a bowhead every second year was laid out in the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement.

Three hunts have been conducted since 1996 by the communities of Repulse Bay, Panniqtuuq and Coral Harbour.