Sports hunt in the crosshairs

Recent events in Eeyou Istchee have once again put the caribou population of northern Quebec in the spotlight, leading the Cree Nation Government (CNG) to renew its pressure on provincial authorities, which appears to have resulted in the implementation of new measures for the 2016-2017 hunting season by Quebec’s Ministry of Forestry, Wildlife and Parks (MFWP).

In early December, Roger Orr found the carcasses of around a dozen caribou littering the roadside near an access road to Washaw Sibi, with choice cuts removed from the animals and the rest left to rot. A number of out-of-province vehicles were parked nearby.

Most recently, Josie Cox of Chisasibi found the access road to his family’s traditional hunting grounds blocked by the vehicles of non-Native sports hunters.

On January 19, the MFWP announced new regulations for the 2016-2017 sports hunt involving the migratory Leaf River Herd, including the closure of Zone 22A, a bag limit of one caribou per licence (though hunters may apply to obtain a second) and a provincial bag limit of two caribou per hunter per year.

In Zone 22B, 1,234 licences will be issued and the hunting season will go from December 1, 2016 to January 31, 2017. The harvesting of caribou without antlers or antlers less than 15 cm will be prohibited, and a corridor where sport hunting is forbidden will be established on the category III land on both sides of the highway to Chisasibi.

Finally, in Zone 23 West, 1,498 licences will be issued, with the hunting season starting August 13, 2016, and ending on October 2. Hunters who secure a second license for this zone will not be allowed to harvest caribou with antlers more than 40 cm above head height.

“The migratory caribou situation in northern Quebec remains a concern,” stated Minister Laurent Lessard in the press release. “Our government has a responsibility to set measures that take into account the important role played by the species in cultural terms and as a food resource for the Aboriginal nations, while considering the economic importance of sport hunting offered by outfitters operating in the area.”

Grand Council Wildlife Management Administrator Nadia Saganash said that while the measures don’t respond to all the changes the CNG have been pushing for, they are a step in the right direction.

“It will reduce some of the traffic in the territory because there’s been a reduction in the number of permits issued and one of the zones has been closed,” said Saganash. “It also significantly reduces the number of caribou that can be harvested, almost cuts it in half, actually. Last year I think there were 4,800 caribou allowed to be hunted and now next season the number has been reduced to 2,700.

“The other change is the implementation of a corridor along the Chisasibi road,” Saganash continued. “This should help address the security issues and the problems that occurred with sports hunters parked around that area. That’s one thing we were able to get from the minister.”

Saganash mentioned that the closure of Zone 22 A was an easy step to take for the MFWP, considering that there are no outfitting companies in that area. While the CNG had asked for the complete closure of the annual sports hunt, she said that due to the number of outfitters and hunting companies located nearby it will take some time to shut it down entirely.

“It’s part of their business and part of their livelihood,” she said. “It’s something we need to consider when we’re having this discussion, but at this point with the decline in [caribou] population, we need to change our mindset and think more about conservation than anything else.

Those considerations include the duration and speed of the population decline, which will determine the level of protection measures that are required to guarantee the right of harvest for Cree hunters.

“The more pressure we put on the herds, the faster they will decline and access to them will become more difficult,” said Saganash. “What we need to protect is the food source and food security for our people; we need to get rid of the sports hunt.”

Through its chairmanship with the Hunting, Fishing and Trapping Regime, the CNG can only serve as a recommending body. It can pass along its research and recommendations to the MFWP and trust that its recommendations are taken into account and acted upon.

While there have been multiple requests from the Hunting, Fishing and Trapping regime to close the sports hunt directed to the MFWP and a resolution passed at the last Grand Council meeting to the same effect, the final decision lies in the hands of Minister Lessard.

The CNG and the Hunting, Fishing and Trapping coordinating committee have the power to establish an upper limit of the kill, a binding agreement that MFWP would be forced to respect. This would set a maximum caribou harvest for all hunters in the territory, Native and non-Native alike.

“This is the only decisional power that we have right now,” said Saganash, “and it’s a difficult decision to make because it will eventually have an impact on both harvests. By setting an upper limit of kill you’re able to control the decline and eliminate the sports harvest, but you’re also imposing a limit of harvest on your own people.”

Saganash noted that all Woodland caribou herds in northern Quebec are in decline. The two major caribou populations in Eeyou Istchee, the George River and Leaf River herds, last measured at around 10,000 and 30,000 respectively.

The caribou population is mainly threatened by hunting but also affected by logging and road building associated with the forestry industry. Still, the sports hunt is the CNG’s main concern.

“The sooner we address this, the greater chance we have to make sure that the caribou population is stable,” said Saganash. “People from the United States, Quebec, Ontario are coming to hunt in the territory and they’re not the priority. The priority are the people who live in the territory and who need that resource to survive and to pursue their traditional activities.”