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Greenland hunt threatens Nunavut polar bear quota

New figures show that annual harvest exceeded estimates

SARA MINOGUE

Polar bear hunters in the Baffin region can look forward to another round of consultations now that Nunavut's environment department has new information about Greenland's polar bear hunt.

"Quotas will remain as is," says Jane Cooper, assistant deputy minister of environment. "The first part of the process is to go talk to the communities and give them the new information."

New data from the Greenland home rule government shows that in the last two years, hunters have killed an average of 185 polar bears every year from the Baffin Bay population.

Until seeing the new numbers, the GN believed that just 129 bears were being taken each year from 1993 to now. Between 1993 and 1997, the annual average kill was only 68.

The numbers show a dangerous trend for Nunavut's hunters - especially those in Qikiqtarjuaq, Pond Inlet and Clyde River, who rely on bears from Baffin Bay.

In January, the GN boosted polar bear quotas by 115 per year to a total of 518. Baffin Bay saw the largest increase, from 41 bears to 105, based on hunters' observations as well as the scientific data then available. The new information could change that quota for next year.

In addition to a review of the quota, however, the GN is already working to address Greenland's large-scale hunt.

Greenland and the GN agreed to work towards a joint polar bear management plan at an April meeting in Nuuk this year. The group plans to meet again in August.

Greenland does not historically monitor its polar bear hunt the way Nunavut does. There, hunters have no quota system and there are no wildlife officers in each community.

The new data came after the home rule government made a push to get more precise information from hunters in the last few years.

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