Research Document 2017/060

A management framework for Nunavik beluga

By Hammill, M.O., Stenson, G.B., and Doniol-Valcroze, T.

Abstract

The signing of land claim agreements with Canada’s Inuit represented historic moments in Canada’s history. These agreements established co-management responsibilities for wildlife resources between the Inuit and Government of Canada. The co-management of wildlife resources transferred basic wildlife management responsibilities to co-management boards and restricted the veto powers of the responsible minister to overturn Board decisions. This has resulted in an apparent management paradox, since on one hand the Government’s ability to limit harvesting has been restricted, while on the other hand, Canada has international responsibilities to ensure a management structure based on Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) and the Precautionary Approach (PA). The rights of hunters to harvest are often highlighted in discussions with hunters, but other aspects of the land claim agreements call for the development of management systems that also respects the principles of conservation and continued sustainability of the resource. Thus, it would appear that the development of a PA/ MSY based framework is consistent with the concepts and principles of recent land claim agreements implemented in Canada. Different management frameworks, some of which have been developed to manage marine mammal stocks in Canada were examined using the eastern Hudson Bay beluga as a study case. Other stocks were also examined for discussion. Criteria were developed that could be used to determine if a stock could be managed using a framework where the probability of reaching the management objective within a specified timeframe can be identified explicitly, or whether a more general approach referred to as the Potential Biological Removal (PBR) should be used to set Total Allowable Harvest levels. Criteria were also developed that could be used to determine an appropriate Recovery Factor (FR) that could be used as part of the PBR calculation. Examples presented here are for illustration only.

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