QWB chair: Caribou concerns came from the communities

The chair of the Qikiqtaaluk Wildlife Board says concerns about the decline of the caribou population on Baffin Island came from the communities.

James Qillaq says the board first heard about the concerns during their fall 2009 meeting.

“The declining populations of the caribou in the Baffin came from the hunters and trappers chairs during our annual general meeting,” he said in Inuktitut. “And ongoing discussions are still happening up to today about the drastic decline in the population.”

Qillaq says the chairs of local hunters and trappers organizations could have done a better job keeping their communities up to date about the ongoing discussions.

He also says the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board plans to hold a public hearing in March to discuss some kind of population control. 

Qillaq says there are three possibilities: a total ban, a quota system or harvesting a certain percentage of the estimated population of the Baffin Island caribou.

Regardless of that decision, Qillaq says the Nunavut government will make plans to have a new population survey conducted.

On Friday, the Nunavut government announced a temporary moratorium on Baffin Island caribou beginning January 1.