Chapters 7.15

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Pacific Walrus - Bull (8247646168).jpg

Suggested citation for this chapter.

Whyte,A. (2022) Mammals. In The Student Encyclopedia of Canadian Indigenous Foods. Editor, M.N. Raizada, University of Guelph, Canada. http://www.firstnationsfoods.org/

Introduction

Within the species of walrus there are just two subspecies, the Pacific walrus and the Atlantic walrus (Mansfield, 1958). The Atlantic walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) is the only subspecies that is found in Canada (COSEWIC, 2017), and plays an important role in the Arctic marine food web (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2018). Additionally, the Atlantic walrus has been culturally and economically significant to Indigenous communities for thousands of years as both a food source and a source of by-products such as blubber, bones and tusks (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2018).

Background and History of Walruses in Canada:

Atlantic walrus remains found at archeological sites in the High Arctic have been dated back to 1000 years Before Present (BP) and groups dating back to Norse Vikings have hunted walrus as a food source (Wiig et al., 2014). Historically, the range of walrus habitat in the Canadian Arctic ranged as far south as Sable Island and the Gulf of St. Lawrence but now only extends to Hudson Bay- Davis Strait (Wiig et al., 2014). The cause of this shift in range is predominately a result of intensive and unrestricted commercial hunting of walruses that occurred from the late 1800s into the early 1900s (Wiig et al., 2014). This created the first retreat of walrus populations into more northern regions of the Arctic as those areas are more difficult for humans to access (COSEWIC, 2017). The commercial hunting of walruses not only caused extirpation of walruses out of their Northwest Atlantic habitats, but also a rapid decrease in population levels (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2018). In 1928, the commercial hunting of walrus was banned in Canada by the Walrus Protection Regulations which restricted the hunting of walrus to only subsistence hunting by Canadian Inuit Peoples (Keighley et al., 2021). In 1980, further restrictions were implemented in Canada which limited each Inuit person to 4 walruses excluding Coral Harbour, Sanikilauq, Arctic Bay and Clyde River communities which operated under community quota regulations where they can hunt 10-60 walruses a year (Keighley et al., 2021). In 1993, the Fisheries Act implemented further restrictions that dictated the type of firearms that could be used for walrus hunting (Keighley et al., 2021). Today, a small amount of licensed sport hunting is allowed under parameters including that the hunter has a licensed permit from the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board, that the number of whales hunted for sport are reallocated from existing individual or community quota for subsistence hunting and that all edible parts of the walrus stay in the community (Keighley et al., 2021). Regulations also require subsistence hunters to report any catches of walrus/harvesting of walrus to local hunting organizations which then report numbers to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (Keighley et al., 2021). Subsistence walrus hunting regulations are collaboratively managed by the federal government and Indigenous communities to incorporate both ecological research and Indigenous Ecological Knowledge into management decisions (Keighley et al., 2021).

Geographic Overview and Population Estimates

The geographic ranges of Walruses in Canada ranges from James Bay to Smith Sound and from Davis Strait (where the Canada-Greenland international boundary is located) and the longitudinal centre of Canada (Shafer et al., 2014). When the population levels of walruses in Arctic Canada are being assessed, walruses are divided into two large genetic groups. The first group is the central Arctic population which contains population groups from North Foxe Basin, Central Foxe Basin and Hudson Bay Davis Strait (Shafer et al., 2014). The other group is the high Arctic population which contains walrus populations from Baffin Bay, Penny Strait-Lancaster Sound and Western Jones Sound (Shafer et al., 2014).

(Shafer et al., 2014)

Figure 1., shows the location of walrus population groups and their distribution throughout Canada (Shafer et al., 2014). The geographic location and population numbers of walruses in Canada is significant to Indigenous communities as it influences the availability and hunting range of walruses (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2018). Traditional Ecological Knowledge is also an important aspect of geographical categorization of walrus populations as hunters and elders in Indigenous communities have extensive knowledge of walrus migration patterns, distribution, and seasonality (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2018). Based on the two large groups of walrus populations, high Arctic and central Arctic, population levels can be established and from population estimates, sustainable removal rates can be calculated (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2018). Table 1. shows the abundance estimates which have been used to determine the number of walruses that can be removed from the population each year without disrupting the food chain or causing ecological consequences (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2018).

Table 1. Population Abundance Estimates and Potential Biological Removal Levels (PBR) for Atlantic Walrus in the Eastern Canadian Arctic (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2018).

Association of Walrus with Indigenous Peoples

For thousands of years, Northern Indigenous communities have hunted walruses for their meat and useful by-products including their hides and tusks (Martinez-Levasseur et al., 2020). Historically, walruses were butchered by Indigenous cultures with some butchering right on the ice and all saving flippers, heart, kidney, limbs and ribs to the best of their ability (Kuhnlein & Humphries, 2017). Many Indigenous groups have historically used walrus as a food source (Wein, 1994). In the Arctic region, Indigenous cultures including Chukotko-Kamchatkan, Eskimo-Aleut, Invuialuit, Inuit and Uralic cultures have utilized walrus as a food source (Kuhnlein & Humphries, 2017). In the Northeast region, Algonquian (Abenaki and Micmac groups) have used walrus as a food source along with Cree peoples in the Subarctic regions of Canada (Kuhnlein & Humphries, 2017). Walrus meat has been recognized as a phenomenal source of protein containing important nutrients such as omega-3 and selenium (Martinez-Levasseur et al., 2020). The average number of walruses harvested by Inuit individuals and communities has declined in the 2000s compared to the 1980’s with major causes including the cost of feeding sled dogs and high costs of fuel (Martinez-Levasseur et al., 2020).

Cooking Methods and Consumption of Walrus

The preparation methods of walrus can vary from grilling the meat like steak to eating the meat without cooking it at all (Kuhnlein & Humphries, 2017). Walrus meat is reported to have been boiled by some groups, and in others eaten raw, frozen, fermented or aged (Wein, 1994). Raw walrus meat ranges from around 115-200 kCalories per 100g and 19-27 grams protein per 100g of meat (Kuhnlein & Humphries, 2017). Walrus meat has also been used to feed and power dogsled teams in the Inuit (Wein, 1994).

References

1.COSEWIC. (2017). COSEWIC assessment and status report on the Atlantic Walrus Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus, High Arctic population, Central-Low Arctic population and Nova Scotia-Newfoundland-Gulf of St. Lawrence population in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. xxi + 89 pp. https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/cosewic-assessments-status-reports/atlantic-walrus-2017.html

2.Fisheries and Oceans Canada (2018). Integrated fisheries management plan. Atlantic walrus in the Nunavut settlement area. https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fisheries-peches/ifmp-gmp/walrus-atl-morse/walrus-nunavut-morse-eng.html

3.Keighley, X., Olsen, M. T., Jordan, P., and Desjardins, S. P. (Eds.). (2021). The Atlantic Walrus: Multidisciplinary Insights into Human-Animal Interactions. Academic Press.

4.Kuhnlein, H.V. and M.M. Humphries. (2017). Traditional Animal Foods of Indigenous Peoples of Northern North America: http://traditionalanimalfoods.org/. Centre for Indigenous Peoples’ Nutrition and Environment, McGill University, Montreal.

5.LeMoine, G. M., and Darwent, C. M. (1998). The walrus and the carpenter: Late Dorset ivory working in the High Arctic. Journal of Archaeological Science, 25(1), 73-83.

6.Martinez-Levasseur, L. M., Simard, M., Furgal, C. M., Burness, G., Bertrand, P., Suppa, S., Avard, E., and Lemire, M. (2020). Towards a better understanding of the benefits and risks of country food consumption using the case of walruses in Nunavik (Northern Quebec, Canada). Science of the Total Environment, 719, 137307.

7.Shafer, A. B., Davis, C. S., Coltman, D. W., and Stewart, R. E. (2014). Microsatellite assessment of walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) stocks in Canada. NAMMCO Sci. Publ, 9, 15-32.

8.Wiig, Ø., Born, E. W., and Stewart, R. E. (2014). Management of Atlantic walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) in the arctic Atlantic. NAMMCO Scientific Publications, 9, 315-341.

9.Wein, E. E. (1994). The traditional food supply of native Canadians. Canadian home economics journal (Canada).