Research Document - 2009/007

Harvest statistics for beluga in Nunavik, 2005–2008

By V. Lesage, D. Baillargeon, S. Turgeon and D.W. Doidge

Abstract

The Nunavik communities have traditionally harvested beluga along the eastern Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay coasts of northern Quebec. Harvest statistics have been monitored over the last 35 years. Two previous reports summarized the information collected between 1974 and 2004 (Lesage et al. 2001, Lesage & Doidge 2005). The current report provides an update of this information for the period 2005–2008. Annual harvests declined progressively from an average 450 beluga/yr prior to the introduction of quotas in 1986, to 258 beluga/yr during 1986–2000, 175 beluga/yr during 2001–2004, and 161 beluga/yr during 2005–2008. Compliance with management measures improved after 2002 as indicated by a greater transmission of information through weekly reports, participation in the sampling program, and a general reduction in the total harvest in all regions of the Nunavik. In spite of these improvements, allocations were exceeded almost each year in all regions of Nunavik. Hudson Strait historically supported the largest harvests, and continued to do so during 2005–2008, with 69–92% of the Nunavik annual harvest. One noticeable change during the period 2001–2008 in comparison with previous years was the large number of communities harvesting in Hudson Strait and the appearance of harvests in non-traditional sites. Although white beluga dominated the harvest during 2005–2008, with 59% of the total catch, grey beluga, including dark grey animals, represented 41% of total catches. The sex composition of the harvest indicates that females were killed as often as, or more often than males during this period. This was particularly true for grey beluga, of which females were killed at least twice as often as males. Older beluga were relatively rare in the harvest during 1993–2008 compared with harvests conducted during the 1980s, resulting in a distribution with a median age of 19 to 20 years depending on periods, compared with 26.0 yrs in the 1980s. Beluga killed in Hudson Strait during the 1990s and 2000s were slightly older than those killed in eastern Hudson Bay during the same period.

Complete document (PDF, 536 KB)

Accessibility Notice

This document is available in PDF format. If the document is not accessible to you, please contact the Secretariat to obtain another appropriate format, such as regular print, large print, Braille or audio version.