The number of caribou that hunters will be allowed to harvest this season on Baffin Island has jumped dramatically following substantial growth in the animal’s estimated population.

The prior hunting restriction of 550 caribou per season has now been raised to 6,000, the Nunavut Government announced Aug. 13 in a news release.

That amounts to approximately 12 per cent of the estimated population there.

This decision goes against a recommendation from researchers inside of Nunavut’s Department of Environment, who proposed a five per cent harvest rate instead, according to a report on caribou abundance estimates published in December 2025. 

There was a moratorium in 2015 on barrenland caribou hunting in Baffin Island, after surveys the year prior found the population had fallen to around 4,600. Previous estimates dating from the 1980s had placed numbers at an estimated 150,000.

Current estimates place the Baffin Island barrenland caribou population at nearly 49,000.

Under the new rules, wildlife authorities are also no longer placing any limits on the number of female caribou that can be harvested in the region. Previously, female caribou could only take up 20 per cent of all harvests, and hunting females with calves was banned. 

In 2025, Department of Environment researchers had recommended against that, arguing hunting limits placed on female caribou and calves should be maintained. Their research was based on recent aerial surveys.

The current caribou hunting season on Baffin Island began on July 1 and will last until June 30, 2027.

The Nunavut Wildlife Management Board agreed to increase the harvest to 6,000 caribou on June 25 after the government submitted a request that recommended the change.

The Environment Department could not be reached for comment on this story.

The board spoke with Government of Nunavut researchers, the Qikiqtaaluk Wildlife Board, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, and hunters and trappers organizations in Igloolik, Kinngait and Pangnirtung, according to board documents.

Some members had, however, expressed concerns allowing 12 per cent of the population to be hunted could pose “an unusual and largely unprecedented level of risk” to the caribou in Baffin Island.

“Board members noted that this harvest rate is high compared with other Nunavut caribou herds,” board chairperson Daniel Shewchuk wrote to Brian Koonoo, Nunavut’s environment minister. 

The Nunavut Wildlife Management Board did not respond to requests for comment for this story. 

Under the new rules, caribou hunters are also no longer being asked to submit samples of their game to their local wildlife office or hunting and trapping organization. They are just asked to report how many they harvested. 

Each hunting and trapping organization is responsible for allocating the share of the caribou hunting tags within their communities.