Inuvialuit - Inupiat Polar Bear Management Agreement in the Southern Beaufort Sea.

This Agreement between the Inuvialuit of Canada and the Inupiat of the United States, considering that the International Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears, provides for cooperation in the research and management of shared populations, aims at, among other things: maintaining a healthy viable population of polar bears in the southern Beaufort Sea in perpetuity; (b) managing polar bears on a sustained yield basis in accordance with all the best information available; (c) providing increased protection to female polar bears by encouraging two males to be hunted for each female. The Agreement provides for the formation of a Joint Commission, consisting of two representatives designated by each of the Inuvialuit Game Council and the North Slope Borough Fish and Game Management Committee. A Technical Advisory Committee shall be appointed by the Joint Commission. The Agreement provides rules for both Parties with respect to hunting for and protection of polar bears. These rules do not preclude either party from unilaterally introducing additional conservation practices within their own jurisdictions. A summary of all harvest information and pertinent research plans or results from each jurisdiction shall be exchanged annually.