Legalizing the Newfoundland Murre Hunt

Thick-billed murre

The Newfoundland Turr Hunt
Hunting of murres, or turrs as they are known locally, is a widespread activity in coastal Newfoundland and has been traditionally a major source of winter meat. It remains an important sporting and cultural activity providing food for about 15,000 hunters and their families. The birds are shot at sea by hunters in small open boats during the seven-month open season, when weather and ice conditions permit. Current Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) surveys indicate that about 600,000 to 900,000 murres are taken annually, in one of the largest harvests of migratory birds in Canada.

About ninety-five per cent of turrs shot are thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia) that breed in large colonies in the eastern Canadian Arctic and western Greenland. Monitoring at Canadian colonies shows that breeding numbers have not declined since the 1970s, but Greenland populations have dropped precipitously during the past fifty years. The remaining birds harvested are common murres (U. aalge) from colonies in Atlantic Canada whose numbers are steady or increaslng.

The high number of thick-billed murres killed may be close to the sustainable yield of the overwintering population, and thus additional mortality, from severe weather, fisheries bycatch, or oil spills, could severely reduce overall numbers. However, a harvest could readily be sustained at a reduced level. Some hunting is now commercially driven, as CWS biologists estimate that about one third of the murres taken are illegally sold. The long season results in the illegal hunting of other seabirds and locally-breeding eider ducks early in September and October before the bulk of the murres arrive in November. The lack of requirement to purchase a hunting permit to shoot murres makes it difficult to monitor the number of hunters and the size of their harvest.

The Need to Regulate the Murre Harvest
The present regulation establishing the murre hunt does not allow for daily bag limits or shorter seasons to restrict the harvest. The lack of flexibility reflects the present status of murres as migratory non-game birds under the MBC. After Newfoundland became a province of Canada in 1949, proposals to close the hunt of all seabirds were strongly opposed, as they provided essential winter meat. An order-in-council passed in 1956 authorised the hunting of murres only for food, by residents of Newfoundland and Labrador, from September to March inclusive. There were no options for further regulations to limit the number harvested, or the hunting techniuues used.

As there is no provision for hunting non-game birds such as murres under the MBC, except by native people or for scientific studies, the legality of the regulation authorising the turr hunt could be challenged. Because of its uncertain legal standing, the present regulation cannot be amended to provide practical management options. The only management tool available now is the complete closure of an area to the hunting of all migratory birds to prevent severe over-harvesting of murres. This approach was tried successfully in 1992, but proved cumbersome and resource-consuming. It is important that a more flexible harvest regime be put in place to enable the effective control of the murre harvest in a legal framework. New regulations must reflect the biological characteristics of murre populations, the concerns of enforcement officers, as well as the traditional nature of the harvest.

Preparation for a New Regulatory Approach
Such a harvest regime must follow from consultation with hunters and conservation organizations, and must be based on sound scientific data. CWS has carried out an extensive information exchange program, involving visits to hunters individually, and in public meetings. CWS also addressed the problem with local, provincial, and national hunting and conservation groups. All agreed that tighter harvest restrictions were needed to ensure that the traditional harvest could continue without threatening the murre populations, and encouraged CWS to make the required changes as soon as possible.

CWS has also conducted comprehensive research on the productivity and breeding biology of thick-billed murres in the arctic colonies, and on movement, feeding, and mortality off the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador, aided by an extensive banding program. This data will enable biologists to design a conservation management framework for the turr hunt, that will not threaten the overall health of the harvested populations.

The Importance of Amending the MBC
After considering a variety of options with hunters, enforcement officers, conservationists, and legal advisors, it became obvious that attempts to modify the present system would not be possible. Instead, it will be necessary to up-date the MBC to reflect the migratory bird concerns of Newfoundland, where the species of wildlife with the highest harvest levels cannot yet be managed as game birds.

It may not be necessary to re-classify murres as game birds under the convention, with the possibility, at least on paper, that murre hunting could be permitted in other parts of its range. Instead, a section could be added to the MBC authorising the harvest of murres in Newfoundland and Labrador, subject to regulations to conserve populations. This would have the required effect of enabling the traditional hunt to continue at a reduced level acceptable to biologists, conservationists, and hunters. These regulations could also specify the hunting techniques to be used, the requirement to buy a permit, and through restricted seasons established on a zonal basis, could protect other species from being poached.

The position being prepared along these lines by the Canadian government will provide the framework needed to continue the traditional turr hunt in a way that reflects the concerns of Newfoundlanders, biologists, and conservationists.

Dr. Richard Elliot is Chief of Migratory Birds and Endangered Species for the Canadian Wildlife Service in Atlantic Canada.