Why do people in Nunavut hunt a bowhead whale every two years?
This is a way for Inuit to continue a tradition that goes back almost a thousand years – by far predating the European commercial whaling practice that almost made the bowhead whale extinct. It’s also a way for elders to preserve special hunting skills, by passing them on to younger people. While hunts have been held every 2 years, since 1996, the frequency of the hunts is regulated by the NWMB and is based on our understanding of the sustainable harvest levels for the different stocks of bowhead whales.
