Marine Mammals

The harvesting of marine mammals is the foundation of the Inuit subsistence, economy and much of the marine mammal harvesting is done from the sea ice. The Inuit have well-established on-ice travel routes linking communities with hunting areas, outpost camps, and other communities. These routes are marked on the environmental sensitivity maps.

The Inuit traditionally have had an intimate knowledge of ice dynamics and its role in determining the distribution and abundance of marine mammals, particularly ringed seals. Hunters have learned to concentrate their efforts in areas such as flaw-lead zones, ice edges and tidal cracks where seals are most accessible. Traditional Inuit campsites are often located in places where these types of ice features recur due to coastal topography, currents and winds.

The ringed seal is by far the most important marine mammal in the Inuit subsistence economy. Widespread and abundant, it provides a dependable year-round source of food. Ringed seals also used to provide important cash income to Inuit hunters; however, the anti-sealing protest and the European Economic Community's sealskin ban have drastically reduced the market for sealskin.

Ringed seal hunting patterns and techniques change with the seasons. During freeze-up in October and November, ringed seal hunting is restricted to the near-shore vicinity of settlements where seal breathing holes are fairly easy to locate in areas of thin ice. Seal catches decline during the winter as ice and snow cover thickens. During this period, the majority of seals are taken in ice cracks and in flaw leads where ice cover is thinner and seal holes are easier to locate. As light levels increase in late winter, the Inuit hunting range tends to expand as local hunting grounds become over-exploited and hunters undertake longer trips in pursuit of polar bears and other wildlife. From early April, when seal pups are born, until June, most hunting effort is directed toward young seals which are found in snow lairs that are usually located in areas of hummocky fast ice. In late May and in June, ringed seals haul out on the fast ice to molt, and hunting is especially productive as hunters can approach on snowmobiles and shoot the basking seals. The peak of the ringed seal harvest occurs in the open-water season from July to October. The majority of the seals taken during this period are shot from outboard-powered boats in sheltered coastal waters near settlements and outpost camps.

The Inuit also hunt walrus, beluga and narwhal. Walrus is now hunted primarily for its tusks. It was formerly an important source of dog food before dogs were largely replaced by snowmobiles. Belugas are hunted for the skin, muktuk or maqtaq, whereas narwhals are hunted for their skin and their valuable tusks. Some meat is also taken from these whales for use primarily as dog food.

Most of the migratory species such as bearded seals and harp seals, walrus, narwhal and beluga are taken during the open-water season from July to October. Spring floe-edge hunting for narwhal, beluga and walrus is important to many communities. As the fast ice disperses from coastal waters during July, hunters use boats to pursue marine mammals in sheltered coastal waters and amongst drifting ice. Although hunting by boat during the open water period is largely opportunistic and multi-specific, Inuit in many areas direct their efforts toward certain species that are locally abundant: narwhal in northern Baffin Island fjords, walrus in Foxe Basin, bearded seals in Hudson Strait, and harp seals in Cumberland Sound.