Baffin Island caribou meetings wrap in Iqaluit
Nunavut Wildlife Management Board to decide on lifting temporary ban - or not
The Nunavut Wildlife Management Board wrapped its public meetings on what to do about the Baffin Island caribou herd last week in Iqaluit.
Now the board must decide whether to leave in place a temporary, Baffin-wide ban that took effect on Jan. 1, or allow a limited harvest.
Hunters at the hearing advocated for the latter, saying communities in the region should have access to some caribou.
"We all have a lot of work to do," said Ben Kovic, the board's chair. "Of course, we will consider what people want, but our priority here is what's best for the wildlife, not what people want."
Kovic couldn't say when the board will submit its recommendations to Nunavut's environment minister.
The Nunavut government announced the ban in December after surveys showed that the herd dropped by about 95 per cent compared with estimates in the 1990s.