Caribou Board Seeks Harvest Information

November 25, 2016 – The Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board (BQCMB) held its 82^nd meeting in Winnipeg November 15-17^th. The primary message coming out of the meeting was the need for better information about the harvest from both the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou herds.

The harvest of Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou has a direct economic value to communities from Nunavut, Northwest Territories, northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba of over 20 million dollars annually – or 200 million over the next decade. And the cultural value of experienced hunters teaching youth how to hunt and learn traditional ways and values, as well as the spiritual importance of caribou, are immeasurable.

Recent surveys of the Qamanirjuaq herd showed a decline from about 344,000 animals in 2008 to less than 265,000 in 2014. “This decline is raising alarm bells across the range,” said Chair Earl Evans, a traditional Métis hunter from Fort Smith, NWT. “We have seen these trends with most of the herds in the western Canadian Arctic. What makes things worse is we have no idea how many caribou are being harvested each year.”

One way to get more information is to ask caribou-using communities how many animals they are harvesting each year, but this information is sensitive and difficult to get. Some people worry that this information will be used against their way of life. The BQCMB can only make recommendations for caribou management, not set restrictions, but it understands this sensitivity and the need for a respectful dialogue with caribou-using communities.

Another big problem is the sale of caribou meat being facilitated by social media, said Evans, and the amount being transported by airline companies. “One of the companies is now letting us know how much caribou meat they are shipping, without naming names, and that is very helpful,” said Evans. “But all airline companies aren’t yet on board, and we need full cooperation to get an accurate picture of how big the problem is, including how much social media and subsidized shipping may be contributing to increasing harvest levels.”

The Board will work in the coming months to try to get a better grasp of the harvest numbers. It will also launch a comprehensive communications and education program focused on the importance of harvest information, respectful harvest, and the accumulating negative effects of the many factors affecting caribou.

About the BQCMB