Nunavut caribou closer
Caribou
Got an email from Steve's outdoor adventures the other day saying 2019 was the last year for hunting caribou in Nunavut. Prices were gouged to 15 grand. Oddly Manitoba that shares the same heard did much better on caribou than Nunavut last year. And heard numbers across the board are up. Talking with Richard Hume last week he told me numbers were up 16% for the Leaf River heard. All these closures seem to be a lot more Inuit based than science based.
My question is his operation closing based on Nunavut closing the hunt or is he just closing the operation? Flight costs are getting out of control in Northern MB, and a lot of Nunavut operations fly through Manitoba. You have to get there. There was a survey done like a year ago, and I had been emailing with the Wildlife Allocations Manager for Manitoba Conservation and as of April 3 when I last talked to him they still didn't even have the raw data yet from the survey. So if you've got data on that survey that influenced the numbers I am completely shocked.
So I am wondering are you saying that caribou hunting is closed in all of Nunavut in 2019? Or are you saying that numbers are up or both? And what is your source?
From the email
"Following meetings with some of our Nunavut partners on Friday of last week we are preparing for the closure of Central Canadian barren ground caribou seasons in Nunavut. Last year western Nunavut camps were impacted with a 70% reduction in permits, and this year eastern Nunavut tag reductions were put in place. Some long time caribou camps have recently decided to close their doors rather than operate with only a handful of permits this fall."
Sad. What's adds to the disappointment is that uninformed folks think sport hunting was part of the problem and that ending it is part of the solution.
it never had anything to do with science unless you are referring to political science
I'm not going to say anyone is doing anything but saying "we are preparing for closure" is a little open ended. Good sales tactic. If the government comes down and says something is being closed, than an outfitter would say government is shutting things down. Then he ratchets the price. That's one way of doing things, and I'm not going to say it is wrong. He isn't lying. But you COULD contrast that with the way things went in Quebec and Jack Hume's operation where he comes out and said government is closing things down when that is what was actually happening. Years prior you didn't get the email where he is reading the winds of change and things may get shut down coupled with a price increase.
All in all I think caribou outfitters are in a real tough place, and if things are slowing down I don't blame them at all for raising prices. It's economics, supply and demand. If people will pay, why not take the money? The email I got from the Manitoba Conservation said that they didn't get survey results, but suspicion is that numbers are down and essentially looking for confirmation, so I'd be really surprised to hear if numbers are up. There's a couple things here just don't make sense to me about this original post. That's my take from what I know. If I cared more and had a dog in the fight I'd be researching to see if in fact eastern Nunavut caribou tags were in fact dropped. Eastern and western are different caribou herds. The eastern ones are the same as MB caribou, which is the one where it seems governments haven't made any choices on yet. So that's why I'd dig into it a little. Just my $0.02 you can take it or leave it.
You have to remember that Nunavut is like the size of the continental US, so depending on where a guy is talking about are completely separate animals. It's not like talking about eastern Iowa and western Iowa.
Same political stuff going on in Alaska. Look at the WAH and unit 23. Herd numbers are up, but they want to ban sport hunting for 5 yrs (average harvest 350 bulls annually ) but continue to allow unlimited subsistence (locals only) at average annual harvest of 13,000+ either sex!!
Nothing to do with science, just special interest.
Apauls, maybe I inturptred the email incorrectly. You are right it does not say closing for sure. More along the lines of looks to be closing. After I glanced at the price I also know I laughed and stopped paying attention. Everyone realizes how big Nunavut is. So yes herd size in one area may be shrinking all while growing in another. I cannot sure my official Manitoba source as I forget what biologist I even talked to last fall up there. If i find the emails i will send them to you. He made it sound like numbers were steady at worst. As for Quebec (I realize it's a different heard and subspecies) they were reported a 16% increase this year. That I was told by Richard. Who no longer even outfits for bou. And realisticly sounds like he never will again. I do feel like Steve's email is a great sales tactic.
I also am unaware of how Nunavut or Manitoba count their heard size, but I'm sure it's similar to Quebec where they fly around in a plane for 4 days taking pictures and then count dots per inch. It's no wonder heard sizes very so much year to year. Even getting an accurate count in Iowa is impossible. They are all a big guess. Obviously numbers are down substantially from the glory days of bou hunting.
Glad I'm getting in on Manitoba caribou this year before the price goes thru the roof. Sadly, this is probably my last caribou hunt unless things turn around. See you on the tundra. Rory
I've got Manitoba caribou planned as well Rory - glad to have it in the works already! I'm not going to lie one of the reasons I made sure to plan for this year was because of the "winds of change." Even if the tags go down to 1 per person it's a bummer compared to 2 per person. Maybe we'll see you in Thompson :)
Good luck to both of you. For the money I think I'll skip barren ground caribou and go straight to mountain bou.
Thanks, unless you can do DIY like we are in MB :) Thankfully I also have a deal set up where we will be leaving spur of the moment after the caribou are down. If they don't come, we're not going.
I was told they were coming by a reliable friend. ;)
Going to need to read about the adventure, Pauls Bros!
Apauls, I will be there on sept. 3rd I think. Have never been to Thompson before. From what I have read it has become a pretty wild and wooly place and you have to be careful up there. See you on the tundra. Rory
My wife and I are going to be in Thompson the the first or second of September. A couple more people and we can have a Bowsite Meet and Greet!!
Good Chance I will be there in Thompson too!
