Beluga Management in the Nunavik Marine Region The NMRWB and EMRWB have submitted their final decisions on beluga management in the Nunavik Marine Region to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. A summary of these decisions can be found by following this link: https://nmrwb.ca/nmrwb-and-emrwb-beluga-management.../ IMPORTANT: These decisions are not currently in effect. We are awaiting a response from the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. Decisions of the Boards only come into effect if approved by the minister. The official press release can be downloaded here: NMRWB-EMRWB-Press-Release-Final-Decision-beluga

New FISHES website online The new FISHES website in online! Check it out to learn more about it! An important part of this research project focuses on EMR fish populations. http://fishes-project.ibis.ulaval.ca

Polar Bear Safety PUBLIC NOTICE TO ALL EMR LAND USERS! During the ice-free season, polar bears are forced to shore along the coastline and on the offshore islands. The bears will cover long distances along the shorelines and between islands in search of food sources, which includes beached whales and eggs from seabird colonies. Infrequently, bears will also travel a small distance inland along rivers, in search of fish. Please exercise caution while out on the land and always have some type of bear deterrent with you. Please remember to report all polar bear sighting and encounters to your local [...]

Canned Meat and Chicken Wings https://www.cbc.ca/.../cree-crab-chisasibi-trapping-cold...           Canned meat and chicken wings secret to catching crabs in northern Quebec | CBC News

Citizen Science Initiative CBC North wrote a piece about the Wildlife Board's "Citizen Scientist" Initiative! Please continue to share your interesting observations - and unusual ones - with us! Contact us on Facebook, or at wildlife@eeyoumarineregion.ca, or talk to your local CTA-EMR local officer! Quebec wildlife officials rely on Cree to provide crucial data on wildlife

Eelgrass Sampling in Eastmain A great start to the week! Sampling eel grass in Eastmain with Niskamoon Corporation and our local CTA-EMR officer (Derek Okimaw). A special thanks to Ernie and Laura Lee for teaching us about their eel-grass sampling project, our boat drivers, local land-users, and tallymen! To read more about the project check out this news article: Cree partners keep large-scale eelgrass research on track during pandemic

New Management Biologist The Eeyou Marine Region Wildlife Board is growing! We are excited to welcome Stephanie Varty to the team. Stephanie will be working as a Management Biologist for the EMRWB and she will be based out of Eastmain, QC. Prior to working for the EMRWB Stephanie worked as an Environmental Technician researching the impacts of aquatic contaminants in northern and remote aquatic systems. Stephanie holds a Master’s Degree in Physical Geography and a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Sciences and Ecology from the University of Toronto. Her M.Sc. research focused on the impacts of climate change and seasonality on [...]

2020 Annual Photo Contest Send us your best photos of the Eeyou Marine Region! Photos may include year-round shots of hunting, fishing or other traditional activities in the E eyou Marine Region, camp life, marine landscape, wildlife, northern lights, etc. All photos submitted could be used to illustrate future EMR Wildlife Board publications, including an annual calendar, reports, newsletters, and the EMRWB website (with credit given to the photographer). Winners will be announced on November 30th, 2020! RULES AND REGULATIONS 1. Contest not open to EMRWB or CTA-EMR members or staff 2. Limit of 10 photo submissions per person 3. [...]

FISHES Project Fostering Indigenous Small-scale fisheries for Health, Economy and Food Security The EMRWB and the CTA are both partners in the FISHES research project, which is a multiyear study aiming to gain a better knowledge of the various stocks of sea-run Whitefish, Lake Cisco and Brook Trout in the Eeyou Marine Region. In the next few weeks, we will be sampling the fins from harvested fish and send them to the lab for genetic analysis. The EMR-CTA local officers in each coastal community will be the main contact persons. You can download a Printable PDF of the FISHES pamphlet [...]

Beluga Observation Posters now posted in communities   Please report your beluga observations! Beluga Poster Chisasibi There is very little documented information about beluga whales in the Eeyou Marine Region, so the Board is interested in collecting beluga observations along the coastline and in river mouths. We have these posters up in every coastal community, at the CTA office. Please contact your CTA-EMR local officer if you see a beluga! We welcome sightings from any community member, fisher or other land user. This will help us to monitor population numbers, identify critical habitat and distribution patterns. [...]