Evaluating marine protection mechanisms for beluga management in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, ISR

• Main Author: Storace, Fleur A.
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 1998
• Subjects: Tuktoyaktuk; Inuvik; Aklavik; Hendrickson Island; Running River; Beaufort Sea; Beluga; Beluga*; Inuvialuit
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1993/1408

This practicum presents the results of research initiated in February 1997 to assess the effectiveness of alternative marine protection mechanisms for beluga management, through community consultations, in the Inuvialuit Settlement (ISR). Fieldwork was conducted in the ISR from June 20 to July 24, 1997. The researcher visited the communities of Aklavik, Inuvik, and Tuktoyaktuk as well as the whaling camps of East Whitefish Station, Shingle Point, Running River, and Hendrickson Island. The researcher spoke with members affiliated with different groups such as federal and local governments, and hunters, and identified issues related to enforcement of the Beaufort Sea Beluga Management Plan (BSBMP). While the BSBMP is currently a relatively effective plan, there is concern that its guidelines will not be observed should industrial activity resume in the region. As a result, it was concluded that a legislative mechanism should be implemented in the ISR for beluga management. Of the three federal departments identified as having the authority to establish marine protection mechanisms, namely the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Department of the Environment, and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, marine protected areas, under the Department of Fisheries and Oceans' Oceans Act (1996) were deemed to be the most appropriate mechanism for beluga management. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)