A month after polar bear exports were banned from Canada’s Baffin Bay region, the territorial government has moved to further protect the animals by imposing new quotas on the number of bears allowed to be killed.

The Nunavut government announced Friday it will reduce the number of bears that can be hunted in the area from 105 to 65 by 2014, a drop of 10 bears per year. The change will bring Nunavut in line with Greenland’s annual quota of 68.

The new proposal is set to reignite hostilities between the government and its Inuit population, as the Inuit believe that the government is continuing to base policy on incorrect data regarding the state of the polar bear population.

The last official study of polar bear numbers took place in 1997, where 2,100 polar bears were found to be roaming Baffin Bay’s mountainous coast and sea ice areas.

Computer models now suggest that population is down to 1,500.

Gabriel Nirlungayuk, director of wildlife with Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., said that model is outdated and based on poor science. Inuit who live side by side with the creatures, who are the largest land predators on Earth, say the polar bear population is not only stable, it’s rising.

Nunavut Environment Minister Daniel Shewchuk said they will now focus on doing a proper population count of bears in the region.

The territorial government’s decision follows a recommendation from the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board. However, the new measures will take effect this year, which is a year earlier than the board recommended.

Shewchuk said the revised quota sends a message to the international community, “The sooner that we implement this, the sooner that it shows the world and also Canada that we are taking action to deal with this.”

But it is this very justification that has further angered Inuit groups, as they believe that their views are being ignored in the face of international conservationist pressure.

This demonstrates the fine balance that exists when global conservation issues directly address indigenous people who interact closely with wildlife and have lived off the land for years.

The perception of conservationists and the government is that the polar bear hunt is not sustainable. Added to this concern is the possibility that if the government had not imposed these stricter quotas, it could face sanctions that Shewchuk believes would damage the territory’s entire economy.

But Nirlungayuk sees things more from the perspective of Inuit, as they are set to be adversely affected by the new quotas. He described how polar bears are already encroaching more on humans and that the new measures will see this only get worse:

“The Innu will have to fend off more bears and be more vigilant”

While there is no doubt that the Nunavut government’s decision is another positive step in protecting polar bears , the effects of the new quotas must be closely monitored to verify whether such strict measures are needed. If the population of polar bears is as healthy as the Inuit believe, then its impact on their lives may not be justifiable and the resources required to monitor the polar bears may be best deployed elsewhere.

ADPOT A POLAR BEAR WITH WWF