Iqaluit (Sep 27/04) - Research being conducted on bowhead whales in Nunavut suggests the population may be up to 10 times larger than previous estimates, but a raise in quotas will not be discussed until final results are available.

In the 1970s, the bowhead population was believed to be a combined 300-400 for both the Baffin and Foxe Basin-Hudson Bay regions, said Sue Cosens, who manages the bowhead research program with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

The species was placed on the endangered list in 1980, but a 1995 study of the Foxe Basin-Hudson Bay region done using observations from a Twin Otter airplane found between 300 and 350 bowheads in that region alone, she said.

DFO's latest research shows the bowhead population at around 1,700, though that number could be higher than 3,000, depending on information collected through a tagging project.

"Rather than low hundreds, we've got low thousands," she said adding "The problem with the surveys is that there are a lot of animals under the surface that we don't see."

According to the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board, the quota for the Baffin Bay region -- from Iqaluit to Grise Fiord -- is one bowhead every 13 years, while the Foxe Basin Hudson Bay region is allocated one animal every two-three years.

The board will not discuss an increase in hunting quotas until Cosens makes an official presentation to the board, said chief operating officer Jim Noble, who thinks DFO's numbers should be viewed with caution.

"Because of the time between surveys and the terrific expense of doing them, you could possibly be counting the same animal," Noble said. "We'd rather err on the conservation side."