Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Nunatsiavut Hunters Calling for Higher Polar Bear Quota

The possibility of increasing Nunatsiavut’s polar bear quota was up for discussion during a meeting of three Inuit regions.

Representatives from Nunavik, Nunavut and Nunatsiavut came together to discuss the Davis Strait polar bear population.

Jamie Snook is the Executive Director for the Torngat Secretariat.

He says11 representatives from Labrador attended the first ever Davis Strait Polar Bear Interjurisdictional Meeting.

The attendees included local hunters, government representatives and members of the Torngat Wildlife and Plant Co-management Board.

They met in Kuujuaq, Nunavik, last week.

Snook says they discussed the current state of the Davis Strait polar bear population and management of the polar bear hunt.

The Davis Strait polar bear population is the highest and most densely populated of any other.

They discussed the science behind the population and shared traditional knowledge on polar bears.

Safety concerns about the high number of polar bears were also discussed.

A resolution was passed during the meeting to increase Nunatsiavut’s polar bear quota by six bears.

The proposed increase would bring Nunatsiavut’s quota to a total of 12 polar bears.

The resolution was supported by all three Inuit regions involved.

Snook says that the participants will now bring the recommendations to their respective governments in hopes of increasing the quota.

He adds that the meeting was a huge success and they hope that it is something that will happen again in the future.

No comments:

Post a Comment