Involvement of the Hunting, Fishing and Trapping Coordinating Committee in Caribou Management

Transcription

1 Involvement of the Hunting, Fishing and Trapping Coordinating Committee in Caribou Management Migratory Caribou Workshop Montréal, January 20-22, 2010 Presented by John Mameamskum Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach Member, Hunting, Fishing and Trapping Coordinating Committee

2 Two Questions What are the responsibilities of the HFTCC for migratory caribou under the JBNQA and the NEQA? How successfully has the HFTCC discharged those responsibilities? 2

3 HFTCC Jurisdiction All powers apply only within JBNQA / NEQA Territory 3

4 Responsibilities Overall review, manage supervise and regulate the hunting, fishing and trapping established by JBNQA 24 and NEQA 15 4

5 Responsibilities (cont d) Relevant to migratory caribou, but not exclusive Oversee the implementation of the outfitting regime (JBNQA 24.9; NEQA 15.0), including exercise by Crees, Inuit and Naskapis of right of first refusal to 7/10 outfitting applications on Category III lands Participate in the establishment and the implementation of guaranteed levels of harvesting for Naskapis, Crees and Inuit (JBNQA 24.6; NEQA 15.6), including allocating quotas and applying other management techniques 5

6 Responsibilities (cont d) Assessing applications for commercial hunting, keeping in captivity and husbandry of certain species (JBNQA CA No 12; NEQA CA No 1) Establish upper limit of kill for Natives (Crees, Inuit, Naskapis) and non-natives for moose and caribou (JBNQA ). Subject to principle of conservation, decision binds Quebec Minister and Government and Cree, Inuit, Naskapi local and regional governments 6

7 Responsibilities (cont d) Propose regulations/other measures relating to HFT Regime (JBNQA ) Advise governments on all proposed regulations relating to HFT Regime (JBNQA ) Participate in the JBNQA 22 and 23 environmental regimes (JBNQA c) Review by-laws/regulations proposed by Native authorities/governments (JBNQA 24.5; NEQA 15.5) 7

8 Responsibilities (cont d) Submit recommendations to Ministers on a range of issues, including: (JBNQA ) number of Natives permitted to hunt/fish and places/times of such activities management procedures for conservation positions to be adopted in international and intergovernmental negotiations relating to wildlife management species of wild fauna requiring complete protection from time to time research projects on wildlife 8

9 Responsibilities (cont d) Caribou-Specific JBNQA and NEQA do not distinguish between migratory, sedentary, mountain caribou ecotypes Caribou Zone B a) creates a caribou zone 9

10 Caribou Zone 10

11 Caribou Zone Naskapis can hunt caribou in Inuit portion of caribou zone. Inuit can hunt caribou in Naskapi portion of caribou zone north of 56º15. Inuit can hunt caribou in Naskapi portion of caribou zone south of 56º15 only in specified circumstances (i.e., scarcity of caribou elsewhere where Inuit have right to harvest) and with permission of majority of HFTCC members having a vote (including Québec and Inuit representatives). HFTCC approval must specify period when Inuit can harvest caribou and binds Minister. 11

12 Implementation Selected examples relating only to caribou Upper limit of kill (ULK) Year ULK -Schedule of adoption : - None adopted since , since HFTCC decided caribou so numerous that no ULK needed n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a

13 Implementation (cont d) Much debate within HFTCC when ULKs adopted: Québec and Native parties disagreed on George River Herd demographics Québec party thought Native parties trying to limit sport hunt unreasonably Dissatisfaction by Native parties at Québec s failure to adopt ULK Québec adopted ULK within four months 13

14 Implementation (cont d) Caribou Zone November 2005, Kuujjuaq Mayor asked NNK Council for permission for small caribou hunt near Kawawachikamach because no caribou in Kuujjuaq vicinity Instead of seeking approval of HFTCC, Naskapis and Inuit made an alternative arrangement 14

15 Implementation (cont d) Caribou Management Plan 1980: HFTCC Native parties request caribou management plan. 1983: HFTCC Québec party insists on raising caribou ULK out of fear George River Herd growing so fast as to threaten habitat over long term. HFTCC Native parties demand management plan as condition of approving increased ULK. HFTCC Task Force on Big Game mandated to prepare management plan for George River Herd. 1986: Québec submits to HFTCC Management of the George River Caribou Herd (New-Québec) within the Framework of its Commercialization. HFTCC comments extensively, but plan never finalized. 15

16 Implementation (cont d) Caribou Management Plan (cont d) 1990: Québec prepares Tactical Plan for Caribou. HFTCC reviews plan. 1998: Québec tables Northern Québec Monitoring Plan , prepared jointly with HFTCC. First inclusion of Traditional Ecological Knowledge. HFTCC approved plan in March December 2004: Publication of Nord-du-Québec Caribou (Rangifer Tarandus) Management Plan , prepared jointly by Québec and HFTCC. 16

17 Nord-du-Québec Caribou (Rangifer Tarandus) Management Plan

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19 Implementation (cont d) Guaranteed Levels of Caribou Harvesting: Party Study Period Approval of Caribou GLH Caribou GLH Inuit 1970s ,547 Cree 1970s Naskapi ,020 Because of caribou abundance, system of priority of Native harvesting for caribou has never been implemented 19

20 Implementation (cont d) Commercial Caribou Hunting Neil Greig will address this topic in greater detail. Commercial hunting not addressed in JBNQA (1975) or NEQA (1978). CA No 12 to JBNQA and CA No 1 to NEQA (1993) permit Naskapis, Crees and Inuit to hunt commercially caribou, willow ptarmigan, rock ptarmigan, arctic hare, snowshoe hare and spruce grouse until November 10, Only hunts conducted were by Inuit companies: Nunavik Arctic Foods; Ipushin Intercontinental Trading Co. NNK-owned company obtained commercial allocations in 1995, 1998 and 2000, but circumstances did not permit hunts to be carried out. Commercial quotas granted by Québec never reached. Most successful year reached 37% of quota. 20

21 Commercial Caribou Harvest in Québec 1994 to Source: MRNF. December Nord-du-Québec Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) Management Plan

22 Overview & Evaluation The late Dr Jack Cram chaired the 1977 Schefferville Caribou Conference. He commented that: The most worrying revelation made at the conference is that a gap exists between Native hunters and government biologists. It is not just a gap between knowledge and application of knowledge: it is a gap in credibility The work of the HFTCC has been slow and, at times, difficult. But it has, in my opinion, gone a long way towards bridging both the gaps identified by Dr Cram in

23 Thank You! Some attendees of the First Quebec-Labrador Caribou Conference held at Schefferville, Quebec, 3-5 May, IY-RLeqqvymHMhBjgANwqkuigvg=&tbnid=gFkiHhSye 23