2007-08-008-C7 -Champaign and Aishihik First Nations Fish and Wildlife Harvest Monitor - 2007
Summary
The Fish and Wildlife Harvest Monitor (FWHM) reports directly to the Renewable Resource Manager and Officer, and is responsible for collecting all information on fish and wildlife harvest and other observations within CAFN Traditional Territory.
On September 1st, 1999, CAFN started a pilot project with YTG Renewable Resources to conduct a ground-based moose harvest monitoring. CAFN hired the Aishihik Wildlife Monitor to record all harvesting activities and other wildlife observations within CAFN Traditional Territory within the Yukon. In the following years, the monitoring activities expanded to collecting harvest numbers and other wildlife observations from the British Columbia portion of our traditional territory.
The objective was to determine the amount of moose and other wildlife that were being harvested by our citizens and other Yukon First Nations within our traditional territory. This information will then be used by the CAFN Government to assist with the future management and protection of our local wildlife resources. The collection and use of this information ensures strict confidentiality to our subsistence hunters. They were only asked to identify species, sex, date and location of a kill.
On July 25th to August 5th 2007 the FWHM assisted with the Aishihik Lake Whitefish Monitoring program initiated by DFO and Yukon Energy Corporation (YEC). YEC has a long-term monitoring program with the goal of protecting the lake whitefish population in Canyon, Sekulmun and Aishihik Lakes and ensuring that no significant adverse effect to the lake whitefish fishery results from the operation of the Aishihik Generating Station. The FWHM assisted in the collection and sampling protocol, which included measuring length, weight, sex, maturity, aging structures (otoliths) retained from all caught lake whitefish and other species will be archived and stomach content preserved. These surveys are intended to ensure that the lake whitefish populations on these lakes continue to be healthy and sustainable.
From July 25th, 2007 to March 31st, 2008 the AFWM maintained a presence on the land recording and observing all harvesting activities within CAFN Traditional Territory, both within the Yukon and British Columbia portions. Once again the ground-based moose monitoring was successful in recording the moose harvest within the Yukon and British Columbia portions from August 2007 to March 2008. The moose harvested from the British Columbia section of CAFN Traditional Territory was recorded into the overall harvest numbers.
The caribou harvest between August and October 2007 shows that CAFN’s citizens are taking the necessary steps to ensure compliance for our educational message of Bull Only Harvest.
To download a copy of the report, click here: CAFN Wildlife Harvest Monitor Report 2007 (pdf).
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