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New caps for narwhal harvests

Numbers released for five whaling communities

Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (July 01/02) - New harvesting limits for the five hamlets involved in community-based management of narwhals have been made public.

Ben Kovic, chair of the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board, announced the figures last week after telling the communities of the changes.

The new numbers are based on the number of narwhals harvested by each community over a five-year period.

Kugaaruk hunters will be permitted to take 17 narwhals this year, Repulse Bay's are entitled to 72, Arctic Bay gets 101, Pond Inlet 108 and Qikiqtarjuaq 81.

Under the former DFO-imposed quota system, Kugaaruk could harvest just 10 of the whales, Repulse Bay 25, Arctic Bay 100, Pond Inlet 100 and Qikiqtarjuaq 50.

The caps on harvests will be in effect for this year as the partners involved in the new management system review the three-year trial period and decide if it should continue.

The Wildlife Management Board, regional wildlife organizations, hunters and trappers associations, Nunavut Tunngavik and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans will all participate in the review.

Community-based management was introduced in 1997 when the Narwhal Working Group looked at the system of quotas imposed by DFO and developed a non-quota system to be overseen by community hunters and trappers associations.

The cap was imposed because of over-harvesting concerns that stemmed from the three-year trial, which wrapped up last fall.