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Nunavut Raised Baffin Island Caribou Harvest Limit From 550 to 6,000

Barren-ground caribou walking on tundra in Nunavut
Conservation · Management

The Government of Nunavut, Canada increased the total allowable harvest of Baffin Island caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) from 550 to 6,000 tags for the 2026–27 harvest season. The decision took effect immediately on 13 August 2026 after the government accepted a decision by the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board.

The government said the increase reflected current population information, available scientific evidence and Inuit qaujimajatuqangit, a knowledge system encompassing Inuit knowledge, experience and values. A Government of Nunavut aerial-survey report underlying the 2026 review estimated about 48,700 caribou across Baffin Island in 2024–2025, compared with about 4,600 in 2014 — roughly a tenfold increase. The information was presented to the board at its 24 June meeting in collaboration with the Qikiqtaaluk Wildlife Board and local Hunters and Trappers Organizations.

The new arrangement also directs annual increases of 125 tags from the 2027–28 season onward. Previous restrictions that limited females to no more than 20% of the total harvest and prohibited harvest of females with calves were removed.

Hunters must still hold an allocation and report their harvest to their local wildlife office or Hunters and Trappers Organization. The territorial government described the increase as a way to expand harvesting opportunities while maintaining long-term sustainability of the Baffin Island population.

Sources and image credit

  1. Government of Nunavut. (2026, August 13). Effective Immediately: Increase to Baffin Island caribou harvest.Primary government release. Confirms the increase in total allowable harvest from 550 to 6,000 tags for 2026–27, annual increases of 125 tags from 2027–28, removal of previous female-harvest restrictions, reporting requirements, and the use of current population information, science and Inuit qaujimajatuqangit.
  2. Campbell, M. et al. (2025). Aerial Abundance Estimates and Trends of the Barren-Ground Caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) of Baffin Island Nunavut – March 2024 and 2025.Primary technical survey report used in the 2026 management review. Estimates about 48,681 caribou across Baffin Island in the combined 2024–2025 surveys versus 4,645 in 2014.
  3. Government of Nunavut. Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit.Official background source for Inuit qaujimajatuqangit.

Image: Wild reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) near North Arm Ennadai Lake by the Kazan River in Nunavut, Canada, 16 September 2015. Photo: Alan D. Wilson / Nature's Pics Online. Source: Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0. Representative Nunavut image; not an animal from Baffin Island or the 2026 management decision. · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

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