Research Document - 2016/008

Updated analysis of genetic mixing among Nunavik beluga summer stocks to inform population models and harvest allocation

By T. Doniol-Valcroze, M.O. Hammill, S. Turgeon, and L.D. Postma

Abstract

Nunavik hunters harvest beluga from a mixture of stocks, including the Eastern Hudson Bay (EHB) summer aggregation. In 2014, a 3-year management plan proposed by the Nunavik Marine Region Wildlife Board (NMRWB) established a Total Allowable Take for the EHB stock, which relies on genetic analyses of samples obtained from Inuit hunters to determine the proportion of EHB beluga harvested seasonally in different areas of Nunavik.

Using 1,254 harvest samples collected from 1982 to 2013, we updated previous analyses and grouped our results according to the new beluga management boundaries established by the NMRWB. Proportions of EHB beluga in the Hudson Strait harvest remain consistent with previous estimates (11.7% in spring and 23.6% in fall). However, sample sizes for north-eastern Hudson Bay in spring and in Ungava Bay in fall were insufficient for inference.

In 2010, the community of Sanikiluaq (Nunavut) approved a voluntary hunt closure between July 1 and September 30, to assist with EHB beluga recovery. In 2012, the start of the closure date was changed to July 15. The updated proportion of EHB beluga harvested in the Belcher Islands was 2.8% in spring (April 1 – June 30), and 6.5% if spring was extended by two weeks (April 1 – July 14). The proportion was 30.6% in summer (July 1 – September 30) and 0% in fall, which confirms that the voluntary summer hunt closure established by the community of Sanikiluaq is an efficient approach to protect the EHB stock. The samples available from July and August, together with expert knowledge, suggest that extending the spring hunt into July may increase the probability of taking EHB beluga. However, this is based on a limited number of samples and so should be interpreted with caution.

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