The State of Circumpolar Walrus Populations

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for the conservation of walruses in Hudson Bay, and to recommend that walruses be reserved for
Inuit use. In 1928, Canada established regulations that restricted killing of walruses to Aboriginal
hunters for their own food and clothing requirements but allowed walruses to be taken under
Ministerial permit for scientific purposes (Canada Privy Council 1928: P.C. 1036). These
regulations ended commercial hunting by whalers and traders in the eastern Canadian Arctic and
subsistence and sport hunting by non-Aboriginal peoples. This was an important step toward
reducing hunting pressure on the walrus populations but it left important loopholes that enabled
the traders to purchase hides and ivory.
In 1931 more explicit regulations were issued forbidding the export of walrus hides and uncarved
tusks, and limiting the harvest of walruses to seven per family (Canada Privy Council 1931: P.C.
1543). In 1980, the Walrus Protection Regulations were enacted under the Fisheries Act (Canada
Privy Council 1980: P.C. 1980 -1216). Under these regulations only “an Indian or Inuk” was
allowed to “hunt and kill walruses without a licence” and then “not more than four walruses in
one year” (Section 3), except where annual community quotas were scheduled instead for Coral
Harbour: 60, Sanikiluaq: 10, Arctic Bay: 10, and Clyde River: 20. In 1993, these regulations were
consolidated with those for other marine mammals in the Marine Mammal Regulations of the
Fisheries Act (SOR/93-56, 1993).
Hunts in Nunavut and Nunavik (northern Quebec) are co-managed by the Nunavut Wildlife
Management Board (NWMB) and Nunavik Marine Region Wildlife Board (NMRWB), under the
applicable sections of their respective land claims agreements, with scientific advice from
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), which manages walruses in other jurisdictions in
cooperation with other agencies. Community knowledge and Aboriginal traditional knowledge are
also used to manage walruses. Walrus co-management working groups for Foxe Basin and the
Baffin Bay area are working together to draft an Integrated Fisheries Management Plan (IFMP)
for walruses in Nunavut (DFO 2013a:13; A. McPhee, DFO Winnipeg pers. comm. 2016). Under
the Marine Mammal Regulations, trade in edible parts is prohibited, except among First Nations
and Inuit. A DFO Marine Mammal Transport License is required to transport walrus parts within
Canada, except for First Nations or Inuit hunters who are returning home after the hunt. A
Scientific Research Licence from DFO is required to do walrus studies in walrus habitat and
applicants must demonstrate community support. Live capture is permitted only under licence.
Walruses are extralimital in the Northwest Territories (Inuvialuit Settlement Region) and in
Nunatsiavut (Labrador) and there is no regular hunting (less than one walrus taken per decade,
D.B. Stewart et al. 2014a).
Since 1994 a limited sports hunt has been opened annually for non-resident hunters to benefit
communities located near walrus populations (D.B. Stewart et al. 2014a). Under the Fisheries Act,