Terms of Reference

Considerations for a New Management System: Sustainability of Narwhal in Northern and Eastern Baffin Island

Regional Peer Review - Arctic Region

January 14, 2025

Virtual

Chairperson: Lianne Postma

Context

The Qikiqtaaluk Wildlife Board (QWB) submitted a Request for Decision to the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board (NWMB) in June 2020 and March 2022. They proposed an evidence-based modification to the existing Baffin Bay narwhal (Monodon monoceros) management system. The NWMB acknowledged concerns that the assumptions used to determine the narwhal stock boundaries and the harvest allocation model used to inform the 2013 Integrated Fisheries Management Plan (IFMP) do not reflect Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ), specifically narwhal movement patterns. The NWMB called on co-management partners to consider the evidence about narwhal stock definitions presented by the QWB while revising the narwhal IFMP. In order to revise the IFMP in a manner that addresses these concerns, Science advice is requested regarding new information to support narwhal stock delineation, and assessing the risks of managing the Baffin Bay narwhal population based on combining different narwhal stocks with and without seasonal harvesting windows. The results from this meeting will contribute to future revisions to the IFMP for narwhal in the Nunavut Settlement Area.

Objectives

The objectives of this peer review will be to provide Science advice on the sustainability of Baffin Bay narwhal by:

1. Reviewing assumptions and currently available scientific evidence related to stock delineation;
2. Conduct a risk assessment for each of the scenarios listed below to inform sustainability:
1. Four independent stocks (East Baffin Island (EBI), Eclipse Sound (ES), Admiralty Inlet (AI), and Somerset Island (SI)): An updated version of the 2011 Harvest Allocation Model (HAM) (Richard 2011) based on the latest scientific knowledge (including narwhal movements between management units as described in DFO 2020), both with and without separate seasons.
2. Three separate management units without summer and migratory seasons:
1. combined EBI and ES,
2. AI, and
3. SI stocks.
3. Three separate management units without summer and migratory seasons:
1. combined ES and AI,
2. EBI, and
3. SI stocks.
4. Two separate management units without summer and migratory seasons:
1. combined EBI,
2. ES and AI, and
3. SI stocks.
5. A single management unit comprised of the EB, ES, AI and SI stocks without summer and migratory seasons.
6. The maximum sustainable harvest that could be allocated to any hunting region in Baffin Bay.
3. Identifying uncertainties, challenges, and limitations to this assessment.

Expected Publications

• Science Response

Expected Participation

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) (Ecosystems and Oceans Science, and Fisheries Management sectors)
• Academics
• Qikiqtaaluk Wildlife Board (QWB)
• Kivalliq Wildlife Board (KWB)
• Kitikmeot Regional Wildlife Board (KRWB)
• Nunavut Wildlife Management Board (NWMB)
• Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI)
• Other invited experts

References

• DFO. 2020. Information related to the delineation of the Eclipse Sound and Admiralty Inlet narwhal stocks. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Sci. Advis. Rep. 2020/048.
• Richard, P.R. 2011. Allocation model for landed catches from Baffin Bay narwhal stocks. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2011/056. iv + 27 p.