MITTIMATALIK/POND INLET - An estimated 2,000 pound whale was brought to shore in Pond Inlet by a 23-person hunting party on Aug. 5 after a three-day hunt.

A Pond Inlet hunting party returned to their community with a 42-foot long bowhead whale during the first week of August. - photo courtesy of Glenn Williams/Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.

It was the first bowhead whale hunt in Pond Inlet for many years.

"The last we know of was in the early 1900s. We don't have a specific year," said Bryan Simonie, the manager of the Pond Inlet Hunters and Trappers Organization, who helped plan the hunt and work out the logistics.

He said that made the celebration more emotional. After the whale was brought in, the community had a big feast.

"We brought in caribou for that as well, and we received seal and Arctic char from local hunters," said Simonie.

Everyone in the community was excited with the hunt and festivities, according to Colin Saunders, economic development officer for the hamlet.

"Considering that this is the first bowhead hunt in the community for generations, the community was really happy with everything," said Saunders.

Simonie said "When the hunters came in after the whale was caught there was a very large crowd at the gates welcoming in the hunters and it was quite an event."

The whale was about 42 feet long and 24 feet around, according to a press release sent out by Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. on Aug. 9. Simonie estimated the hunters harvested "well over 800 pounds" of maqtaaq from the whale.

"Everyone in the community who wanted maqtaaq got some and we're sending it out to other communities as well," said Simonie.

The hunters left on Tuesday, Aug. 3, and made the kill on Thursday of the same week. It was not the first whale the hunting party spotted, according to Simonie, but they selected it due to its size.

Three Nunavut communities have been selected to hold bowhead whale hunts this year. The other two hunts will be conducted in Kugaaruk and Repulse Bay later on in the summer.