BELUGA MANAGEMENT PLAN 2010 Final Draft2

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BELUGA MANAGEMENT PLAN 2010 Final Draft2 NUNAVIK & ADJACENT WATERS 2010 BELUGA MANAGEMENT PLAN Nunavik & Adjacent Waters – 2010 Beluga Management Plan TABLE OF CONTENTS PREAMBLE............................................................................................................................. iii REVISION PROCESS.............................................................................................................iv IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS ..............................................................................................iv SCIENTIFIC ADVICE .......................................................................................................... - 2 - CONSERVATION MEASURES FOR ALL AREAS.............................................................. - 6 - 1.0 Conservation concerns about females, calves and juveniles............- 6 - 2.0 Conservation concerns about netting ..............................................- 7 - 3.0 Conservation concerns about wastage ............................................- 7 - 4.0 Conservation concerns about abiding by the management plan ......- 8 - AREAS FOR NORTHERN QUEBEC BELUGA HARVESTING........................................... - 9 - „ Ungava Bay..................................................................................................................... - 9 - „ Hudson Strait ................................................................................................................ - 10 - „ Eastern Hudson Bay ..................................................................................................... - 11 - „ Long Island (James Bay North) and James Bay ........................................................... - 13 - „ Ottawa Islands .............................................................................................................. - 14 - „ Nottingham and Salisbury Islands................................................................................. - 15 - „ Belcher Islands / Western Hudson Bay......................................................................... - 16 - SUMMARY........................................................................................................................ - 17 - BELUGA TOTAL ALLOWABLE TAKE (TAT) PER AREA ................................................. - 18 - Appendix Map of the Areas for Northern Quebec Beluga ................................................................ - 19 - --------------------------- Photographer: Véronique Lesage, DFO - ii - Nunavik & Adjacent Waters – 2010 Beluga Management Plan PREAMBLE While Fisheries and Oceans Canada retains ultimate responsibility for conservation of certain fish and all marine mammals, including habitat in Nunavik, under the Nunavik Inuit Land Claims Agreement (NILCA), the Nunavik Marine Region Wildlife Board (NMRWB) is the main instrument of wildlife management in the Nunavik Marine Region (NMR), the main regulator of access to wildlife, and has the primary responsibility in relation thereto, in the manner described in the NILCA (S.5.2.3). The NILCA also assigns wildlife management responsibilities to the Local Nunavimmi Umajulivijiit Katujiqatigininga LNUK (S. 5.7.2) and to Regional Nunavimmi Umajulivijiit Katujiqatigininga RNUK (S.5.7.4). The Nunavik & Adjacent Waters, 2010 Beluga Management Plan reflects the most recent traditional and scientific knowledge, as well as many years of management with Nunavik and Nunavut Inuit and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). Initial discussions on the Nunavik & Adjacent Waters 2010 Beluga Management Plan were held by members of the Nunavik Hunters, Fishermen and Trappers Association (NHFTA) in Puvirnituq on November 23-24, 2009. Representatives were: Makivik Corporation, Kativik Regional Government (KRG), Regional Hunting, Fishing and Trapping Association (NHFTA1), HFTA1 Eastern Hudson Bay area, HFTA Hudson Strait area, HFTA Ungava Bay area, NMRWB and DFO Quebec region. Total Allowable Take (TAT), community quota distribution, as well as all other management and implementation measures were discussed during that meeting. Subsequent discussions on the Nunavik & Adjacent Waters 2010 Beluga Management Plan where held in Kuujjuaq on February 16-17th, 2010 with representatives of the NMRWB, NHFTA and DFO Quebec. The result of those discussions was presented to the NMRWB members on March 9, 2010. As per section 5.2.3 of the NILCA, the NMRWB is responsible for determining the TAT. Upon review, the NMRWB accepted the proposed Nunavik & Adjacent Waters 2010 Beluga Management Plan and submitted the plan to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans on March 10 2010 which was approved on ? in order to facilitate an early opening of the season. The NMRWB will work with the NHFTA, DFO and other Inuit organizations in the coming year to foster the development of a 3 year plan (2011-2013) that better integrates traditional and scientific knowledge and identifies areas for improvement of the management plan. Management plans for belugas that are hunted in the areas of Equal Use and Occupancy shared by Nunavik and Nunavut are the shared responsibility of the wildlife management boards of each jurisdiction. 1 It is to be noted that in the following pages we will refer to local HFTA as the LNUK and the Nunavik HFTA as the RNUK. - iii - Nunavik & Adjacent Waters – 2010 Beluga Management Plan REVISION PROCESS This Nunavik & Adjacent Waters 2010 Beluga Management Plan, may be revised prior to its expiration for conservation reasons, or should new information, which can have an impact on the management approach, be made available. Further consultation will be made prior to making any significant changes to the plan. Implementation measures may also be modified as long as they respect the provisions of the 2010 Beluga Management Plan and conservation objectives. IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS Where the Minister is deemed to have accepted a decision of the NMRWB, the Minister shall proceed forthwith to do all things necessary to implement the final decision (c.f. NILCA section 5.5.10, 5.5.13, 5.5.18 and 5.5.21). DFO fulfills this responsibility through a variety of mechanisms, each in formal and informal partnership with Nunavik representatives. Each hunter is responsible for respecting applicable rules and regulations as well as the conservation measures outlined in the 2010 Beluga Management Plan. In addition, a communal hunting plan is to be developed by each community in order to ensure that community harvest allocations are respected. The monitoring of compliance with the ensemble of regulations and management measures is performed by DFO representatives in collaboration with local partners that include, Uumajuit Wardens and Technicians under the supervision of the Kativik Regional Government, as well as RNUK and LNUKs representatives. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Quebec Region February 2010 - iv - Nunavik & Adjacent Waters – 2010 Beluga Management Plan SCIENTIFIC ADVICE The beluga or white whale (Delphinapterus leucas) occurs in the waters around Nunavik (Northern Quebec), along the coasts of James Bay, Eastern Hudson Bay (EHB), Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay. Commercial harvesting by the Hudson Bay Company in Nunavik during the 19th Century led to the depletion of Eastern Hudson Bay and Ungava Bay beluga populations. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) has classified the EHB and Ungava Bay beluga populations as "Endangered"2. The hunting of beluga whales is an important traditional activity for the Inuit as a subsistence hunt and helping to define their culture. While the Nunavik human population is increasing rapidly, subsistence harvest demands need to be balanced with the need to allow these small beluga populations to recover. The EHB population was last evaluated in 2008. A population model incorporating harvest information was fitted to EHB aerial survey data. The best estimate obtained from the model indicates that the population has likely declined from 4,300 (SE=300) belugas in 1985 to 3,000 (SE=800, rounded to the nearest 100) in 2008. Ungava Bay was surveyed in 2008. No whales were observed on transect. This is consistent with all previous surveys since 1985. An analysis of the probability of detecting whales in this area, suggests that a minimum population of 200 animals at the surface is needed if one whale were to be detected on transect, with the current survey design. A review of the genetic material was also performed in 2008. The genetic mixing analysis indicated that approximately 12% of beluga hunted from Sanikiluaq have EHB haplotypes. Beluga hunted in Hudson Strait villages have a high genetic diversity, confirming that several populations are hunted there. In previous assessments, it was estimated that 21% of the Hudson Strait villages harvest, 13% of the Ungava Bay harvest comprise EHB animals, and all animals harvested in Eastern Hudson Bay near their communities. When examined seasonally, the EHB contribution to the Hudson Strait hunt during the spring is lower (12%) than is the contribution of EHB animals to the hunt in fall (22%). Samples collected since 2004 showed a lower proportion of EHB animals harvested during spring and summer (6% and 9%, respectively), while fall samples comprised 17% EHB animals. DNA analyses of tissues collected during the 2004-2008 period suggest that the overall proportion of EHB animals in the harvest has declined to 9%. However, the tissue sampling program does not necessarily reflect the composition of the harvest, with some years having more tissue
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