Abstract
This paper presents the results of collaborative research conducted in 2007 on the harvest of migratory bird eggs by Inuit households of Nunatsiavut, Labrador. Harvest variability between communities and species is examined, as is the social and ecological factors affecting the 2007 Inuit egg harvest. Representing the first comprehensive account of Inuit egg use in Labrador, this information should be valuable to agencies responsible for managing migratory bird populations in North America and will contribute to a more informed understanding of the complexity and temporal variability in subsistence harvesting among Labrador Inuit. It is argued that the recognition of this complexity will be critical as the Nunatsiavut Government and other wildlife management agencies formulate management policies that are supportive rather, than constraining, to Inuit resource use in the future.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ames R (1977) Social economic and legal problems of hunting in northern Labrador. Labrador Inuit Association, Nain
Bellrose F (1980) Ducks, geese and swans of North America. USA Stackpole Books, Harrisburg
Berkes F, Turner N (2006) Knowledge, learning and the evolution of conservation for socio-ecological system resilience. Human Ecology 34(4):479–494
Boyd H, Lévesque H, Dickson K (2002) Changes in reported waterfowl hunting activity and kill in Canada and the US, 1985–1998. Occasional papers no. 107. Environment Canada, Ottawa
Bryman A (2004) Social research methods, 2nd edn. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Canadian Wildlife Service Waterfowl Committee (2001) Population status of migratory game birds in Canada. Ottawa: Canadian Wildlife Service migratory birds regulations report. no. 4
Carscadden J, Montevecchi W, Davoren G, Nakashima B (2002) Trophic relationships among capelin (Mallotus villosus) and seabirds in a changing ecosystem. Journal of Marine Science 59:1027–1033
Chardine J (1992) Seabird harvest in Canada. In: Seabird harvest regimes in the circumpolar nations. Conservation of Arctic flora and fauna technical report No. 9. Iceland: CAFF International Secretariat: 11–17
Chaulk K, Roberts G (2004) Regional and annual variability in common eider nesting ecology in Labrador. Polar Research 23(2):121–130
Chaulk K, Robertson G, Montevecchi W, Ryan P (2005) Aspects of common eider nesting ecology in Labrador. Arctic 58(1):10–15
Cochran W (1977) Sampling techniques, 3rd edn. Wiley, New York
Cott H (1953) The exploitation of birds for their eggs. Ibis 95:409–449
Dosman D, Haener M, Adamowicz W, Marois J, Boxall P (2002) Assessing impacts of environmental changer on aboriginal peoples: an economic examination of subsistence resource use and value. Project report #02-01, Department of Rural Economy, University of Alberta. http://www.rees.ualberta.ca/en/Research/~/media/rees/Research/Documents/Project%20Reports/pr-02-01.pdf
Fall J (1990) The division of subsistence of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game: an overview of its research program and findings. Arctic Anthropology 27(2):68–92
Ford JD, Smit B, Wandel J, Allurut M, Shappa K, Ittusarjuat H, Qrunnut K (2008) Climate change in the arctic: current and future vulnerability in two Inuit communities in Canada. The Geographical Journal 174(1):45–62
Gaston A, Cairns D, Elliot R, Noble D (1985) A natural history of Digges Sound. Canadian Wildlife Service Report Service Series No. 46. Supply and Service Canada, Ottawa
Goudie R, Robertson G, Reed A (2000) Common eider (Somateria mollissima). In: Poole A, Gill F (eds) The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc, Philadelphia
Grosh M, Glewwe P (2000) Designing household survey questionnaires for developing countries: lessons from 15 Years of living standard measurement study. World Bank Report Series 1-3, Washington DC
Hanson H, Queneau O, Scott P (1956) The Geography, birds and mammals of the Perry River region. Arctic Institute of North America, Calgary, Publication 3
Hurst A (2004) Barren ground caribou co-management in the eastern Canadian Arctic: lessons for bush meat management. ODI Wildlife Policy briefing, number 5, April. Overseas Development Institute, London
Jagger P, Duchelle A, Dutt S, Wyman M (2011) Preparing for the fieldwork: managing and enjoying fieldwork. In: Angelsen A, Larson H, Lund J, Smith-Hall C, Wunder S (eds) Measuring livelihoods and environmental dependence: methods for research and fieldwork. Earthscan, Washington, pp 147–162
James Bay and Northern Quebec Native Harvest Research Committee (JBNQNHRC) (1988) Final report: research to establish present levels of harvesting for the Inuit of northern Quebec, 1976–1980. Quebec James Bay and Northern Quebec Native Harvest Research Committee, Quebec City
Jones J, Andrimarovololona M, Hockley N, Gibbons J, Milner-Gulland E (2008) Testing the use of interviews as a tool for monitoring trends in the harvesting of wild species. Journal of Applied Ecology 45:1205–1212
Krech S (1978) Nutritional evaluation of a mission residential school diet: the accuracy of informant recall. Human Organization 37(2):186–190
Labrador Inuit Association (LIA) (nd) Nain Elders Book of Rules. Nain: Labrador Inuit Association
Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement (LILCA) (2003) Queen’s Printer for Canada, Ottawa
Lopoukhine N, Prout N, Hirvonen H (1978) The Ecological land classification of Labrador: A reconnaissance. Series 4. Environment Canada, Ottawa
Meades S (1990) Natural regions of Newfoundland and Labrador. Protected Areas Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John’s
Natcher D (2009) Subsistence and the social economy of Canada’s aboriginal north. The Northern Review 30:69–84
Natcher D, Hickey C, Davis S (2004) The political ecology of Yukon forestry: managing the forest as if people mattered. International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology 11:343–355
Natcher D, Hickey C, Nelson M, Davis S (2009) Implications of tenure insecurity for aboriginal land use in Canada. Human Organization 68(3):245–257
Natcher D, Felt L, Chaulk K, Procter A, Nunatsiavut Government (2011) Monitoring the domestic harvest of migratory birds in Nunatsiavut Labrador. Arctic 64(3): 362–366
Nelson M, Natcher M, Hickey C (2005) Social and economic barriers to subsistence harvesting in aboriginal communities. Anthropologica 47(2):289–301
Nettleship D, Evans P (1985) Distribution and status of Atlantic Alcidae. In: Nettleship D, Birkhead T (eds) The Atlantic alcidae. Academic Press, London, pp 53–154
Newfoundland Department of Natural Resources (2011) Newfoundland and Labrador Exploration Statistics, 1981–2011, St. John’s, Newfoundland. http://www.geosurv.gov.nl.ca/minesen/exploration_stats/. Accessed 5 June 2011
Procter A (2012) Nunatsiavut land claims and the politics of Inuit wildlife harvesting. In: Natcher D, Felt L, Procter A (eds) Settlement, subsistence and change among the Nunatsiavummiut (Labrador Inuit). University of Manitoba Press, Winnipeg, pp 267–289
Sargeant A, Raveling D (1992) Mortality during breeding season. In: Bruce D, Batt A, Afton D, Anderson M, Ankney C, Johnson D, Kadlec J, Krapu G (eds) Ecology and management of breeding waterfowl. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, pp 396–422
Smith R, Blohm J, Kelly S, Reynolds R, Caswell F (1989) Review of databases for managing duck harvests. Transactions of the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources 54:537–544
Statistics Canada (2006) Aboriginal peoples in Canada in 2006: Inuit, Métis and First Nations, Cat. No. 97-558-XIE, 2006 Census, Ottawa
Teetl’it Gwich’in Renewable Resource Council, Parlee B, Berkes F (2006) Indigenous knowledge and ecological variability and commons management: a case study on berry harvesting from northern Canada. Human Ecology 34(4): 515–528
Treseder L, Honda-McNeil J, Berkes M, Berkes F, Dragon J, Notzke C, Schramm T, Hudson R (1999) Northern Eden: community-based wildlife management in Canada. IIED, London
Usher P, Wenzel G (1987) Native harvest surveys and statistics: a critique of their construction and use. Arctic 40(2):145–160
Vader W, Barrett R, Erikstad K, Strann K (1990) Differential response of common and thick-billed murres to a crash in the capelin stock in the southern Barents Sea. Studies in Avian Biology 14:175–180
Webb E, Campbell D, Schwartz RD, Sechrest L (2000) Unobtrusive measures, 2nd edn. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks
Wenzel G (2005) Canadian Inuk subsistence and economy. In: Muller-Wille L, Kingsley M, Nielson S (eds) Socio-economic research on management systems of living resources: strategies, recommendations and examples. Proceedings of the workshop on social and ecological research related to the management of marine resources in west Greenland. Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, Nuuk, pp 146–151 -->
Whittington D (2002) Improving the performance of contingent valuation studies in developing countries. Environmental and Resource Economics 22(1–2):323–367
Wilhelm S, Walsh C, Storey A (2008) Time budgets of common murres vary in relation to changes in inshore capelin availability. The Condor 110(2):316–324
Williams T (1997) From sina to sikujaluk: our footprints. Mapping Inuit environmental knowledge in the Nain district of Northern Labrador. Report prepared for the Labrador Inuit Association. Nain, Labrador
Wong M (1985) Chemical residues in fish and wildlife harvested in northern Canada. Ottawa: Indian and Northern Affairs, environmental studies program report 2
Acknowledgments
This research was made possible through the funding support of the Nunatsiavut Government, Canadian Wildlife Service, and the Social Economy Research Network of Northern Canada. We greatly appreciate the informed comments and suggestions offered by three anonymous reviewers. Last would like to thank and acknowledge the Nunatsiavut Inuit who have contributed their time, knowledge, and experience to the success of this research program.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Natcher, D., Felt, L., Chaulk, K. et al. The Harvest and Management of Migratory Bird Eggs by Inuit in Nunatsiavut, Labrador. Environmental Management 50, 1047–1056 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-012-9939-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-012-9939-x