Muskox, such as these near Hope Bay on the mainland, are a sensitive species when it comes to harvesting. - photo courtesy of Government of Nunavut, Department of Environment

NUNAVUT
The Government of Nunavut has updated its muskox management regulations, it announced Aug. 31.

Muskox harvest regulations New total allowable harvest for muskox per population zone effective Sept. 1: Devon Group, zone MX-04: 15 Bathurst Group, zone MX-05: 30 Victoria Island Group, zone MX-07: 400 Boothia Peninsula Group, zone MX-08: 66 West of Kugluktuk Group, zone MX-09: 20 Northeast Mainland Group, zone MX-10: 190 Central Kitikmeot Group, zone MX-11: 225 Southern Mainland Kivalliq Group, zone MX-13: 182 Areas with no total allowable harvest: Ellesmere Group, zone MX-01 Axel Heiberg Group, zone MX-02 Ringnes Group, zone MX-03 Prince of Wales/Somerset Group, zone MX-06 NWT/Kitikmeot/Kivalliq Group, zone MX-12 -

The new regulations, which came into effect Sept. 1, address Inuit concerns about boundaries and total allowable harvests for each new zone.

These changes are part of the larger project that since 2005 has seen the Government of Nunavut's Department of Environment systematically update regulations under the Nunavut Wildlife Act to reflect the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement.

"The muskox management units (zones) and total allowable harvest (TAH) levels went forward to the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board as a package to be approved and implemented under the new wildlife regulations. The finalizing and implementation of the wildlife regulations under the Wildlife Act has been ongoing for years but is done now. Regulation updating and changes will continue as and when needed," said Drikus Gissing, director of wildlife management for the department.

"A lot of work and time went into revising these (muskox) regulations as the entire process started back in 2005. We needed to acquire the scientific and traditional knowledge to establish the new zones and the new status of the population estimate. There was also a collaborative approach that was followed with our co-management partners under the land claim decision-making process."

There have been both increases and decreases in numbers of muskox, depending on the subpopulation. The new management zones better reflect those subpopulations and so do the new total allowable harvest levels for each.

Before the new regulations came into force, zones were divided into smaller groups of subpopulations that seemed largely arbitrary and did not reflect the knowledge of Inuit hunters.

"Based on consultations we've had with communities, including and especially hunters, and, as well, the scientific studies our biologists have conducted, a lot of the boundary lines of these subpopulations have been altered to more what people believe are more reflective of distribution of muskox, of what would be better management units for specific subpopulations," said Gissing.

As an example, he said, in the Kivalliq, "we only have two subpopulations there now and those subpopulation boundaries are much bigger than the previous ones were. So where they were combined, obviously the total allowable harvest will be bigger."

Gissing adds that overall, most allowable harvest levels stayed the same or increased, and some zones have no need for a total allowable harvest.

"There may have been one or two where there was a reduction if the subpopulation was made smaller or, for instance, on Victoria Island, where we have a bit of a concern, the TAHs were reduced."

As reported in Nunavut News/North Aug. 24, there has been a dramatic decline in population of muskox in the Kitikmeot region over the past five years.

There are more than 100,000 muskox roaming the mainland tundra and Arctic islands of Nunavut and the NWT, according to the Nunavut Development Corporation.

"This is a lot of animals. On Banks and Victoria Island, at one point they had half the world's muskox population, so if you've now lost half of half the world's muskox population, this is big … without being alarmist," says Angeline McIntyre, a PhD student in the Department of Ecosystem and Public Health at University of Calgary, who is studying erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, a bacterial infection that can cause sudden death if animals are under stress.

"The regulations that came into force now are not linked to the disease situation on Victoria Island," said Gissing.

"The link between this disease and a massive die-off of muskox on Victoria Island is harder to establish and research is continuing to get a better understanding of the impacts of this and possibly other diseases on the species. Therefore, we have one of the strongest muskox health monitoring programs that was started in 2009 in the Kitikmeot region."

The Department of Environment works with several partners, including the University of Calgary, to monitor muskox "to understand and recognize the early sign of a potential diseases outbreak," said Gissing.

"A lot more studies need to be done and are being done. The GN is putting a lot of money into that area," he added.

A muskox "bloom" in the 1980s on Victoria Island and Banks Island saw the total allowable harvest increase for the area, to help regulate the high population numbers. It's possible that overabundance, which can stress animals, plays a part in die-offs.

Muskox have a 100-year history of management in the North.

"They were basically almost wiped out in Northern Canada in the early 1900s due to the fur trade, when people overharvested bison. Then there was a moratorium placed and nobody was allowed to harvest muskox for many, many years to help the populations recover," said Gissing.

"In the 1960s, apparently the Thelon Game Reserve was developed at that time for the protection of muskox (in part). So the NWT, in the 60s, it's my understanding, they set total allowable harvest because they could see the animals were increasing and they thought, OK harvesting could be allowed again."

Continued expansion

The goal was continued expansion of muskox to the east.

"And that has happened over the last number of years. They expanded so much that communities (such as Resolute and Grise Fiord) thought they've expanded enough now."

Gissing says, "Nunavut-wide, from the 1917 situation, we have been doing an amazing job in managing muskox in the Canadian Arctic. However, now we might be entering a phase where the natural environmental elements – diseases, predation, quality and quantity of vegetation – are starting to affect naturally the muskox number. This is why we continue to do research to determine what factors impact muskox to help make informed management decisions."

Gissing also notes that muskox, like polar bears, are species very sensitive to harvesting.

"TAH is a management tool. The only reason we would establish a total allowable harvest is if there is a valid conservation concern," he said. "But we retained a TAH on most (muskox) subpopulations because it's good to keep record of it, but at the same time there is a continued concern that harvesting could potentially cause a conservation concern."

Gissing's final assessment: "There is a lot of muskox in Nunavut."

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