About Us

The NMRWB is the main instrument of wildlife management in the Nunavik Marine Region and was created under the Nunavik Inuit Land Claim Agreement (NILCA).  The NMRWB aims to consider both western science and traditional Inuit knowledge, or Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) when making wildlife management decisions.

about 10,000

Inuit in Nunavik

10,000 km²

Torngat Mountains National Park Reserve of Canada

approximately 5100 km²

Nunavik Marine Region

$54.8 Million $

Capital Transfers over 9 years

About the Board

The board is comprised of seven appointed members – three by Makivik Corporation, one by the Federal Minster of Fisheries and Oceans, one by the Federal Minister of the Environment, one by the Government of Nunavut, and a chairperson, nominated by the board members.

The office of the NRMWB is located in Inukjuak, with five full-time employees of the NMRWB; an Executive Director, a Director of Wildlife Management, a Wildlife Liaison Officer, a Biologist, and an Administrative Assistant.

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The NMWRB was created and operates under the Nunavik Inuit Land Claim Agreement (NILCA; read more below). Although the NILCA was signed on December 1st, 2006, and in force since July 10th, 2008, the first meeting of the NMRWB did not occur until March 2009.  Since the first meeting, the board has met regularly, and passed numerous resolutions, the most notable of which was the approval of the NMRWB’s first management plan, the 2010 Nunavik and Adjacent Waters Beluga Management Plan.

Wildlife management and harvesting

The Nunavik Marine Region Wildlife Board is established as an institution of public government to manage and regulate wildlife. Nunavik Inuit have the right to harvest any species of wildlife in the Nunavik Marine Region to fulfill their economic, social and cultural needs, unless the board establishes a limit in accordance with the terms of the agreement. Nunavik Inuit harvesting will take priority over other forms of harvesting.

The NMRWB is also involved in numerous wildlife issues in conjunction with other jurisdictions.  To facilitate and coordinate management decisions for wildlife that occupy, or travel between two or more jurisdictions, such as polar bears, the NMRWB is an active member in groups such as the Polar Bear Administrative Committee, and the National Shrimp Advisory Committee.  The board’s participation in these groups ensures that the voices of Nunavik hunters are heard when making inter-jurisdictional or national wildlife conservation and management decisions.

A co-management board

While the NMRWB is the main instrument of wildlife management in the Nunavik Marine Region, it is also considered a co-management board.  This means that the NMRWB is not alone in making management decisions regarding wildlife species in the Nunavik Marine Region.  Some of the co-management partners for the NMRWB include the Canadian Wildlife Service, the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the Nunavut Department of the Environment.  Other partnerships are forged within Nunavik.  The Regional Nunavimmi Umajulivijiit Katujaqatigininga (RNUK, also known as the NHFTA) and the Local Nunavimmi Umajulivijiit Katujaqatigininga (LNUKs) both serve as consultative bodies for the board, allowing news of what is happening at the local, community, and regional levels to be filtered up to the NMRWB.

The Nunavik Inuit Land Claims Agreement

The Nunavik Inuit Land Claims Agreement addresses the use, management and ownership of Nunavut land and resources in James Bay, Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay, as well as a portion of northern Labrador and an offshore area adjacent to Labrador. The Governments of Canada and Nunavut and Makivik Corporation, an organization that represents about 10,000 Inuit in Nunavik, signed the Nunavik Inuit Land Claims Agreement on December 1, 2006. It came into effect on February 14, 2008.

The Nunavik Inuit Settlement Area is comprised of two areas:
1. The Nunavik Marine Region, which covers the Nunavut offshore islands adjacent to Québec, the intervening waters, and the offshore islands including the ice that separates them.
2. The Labrador portion of the Nunavik Inuit Settlement Area, which covers an offshore area adjacent to Labrador from Killinik Island to just north of Hebron and an on shore portion in northern Labrador, consistent with the boundaries of the Torngat Mountains National Park Reserve of Canada.

Torngat Mountains National Park Reserve of Canada

The Nunavik Inuit Land Claims Agreement, creates national park status for the Torngat Mountains National Park Reserve of Canada. The park is approximately 10,000 square kilometres, extending from Saglek Fjord in the south to the northern tip of Labrador, and from the provincial boundary of Québec in the west to the Labrador Sea in the east. The new park protects an area of spectacular Arctic wilderness, home to a variety of wildlife and numerous archaeological sites.