The dwindling George River and Torngat Mountains caribou herds will not be listed as endangered, the Newfoundland and Labrador government said Tuesday.
Instead, the province will work with Indigenous groups to come up with a joint management approach to keep the numbers of the two Labrador herds from shrinking ever further.
Fisheries and Land Resources Minister Gerry Byrne said in a news release that the province may reconsider its decision, but only after further consultations.
The most recent census of the George River herd, conducted in July 2016, estimated the population at just 8,938 animals, down from an estimated 74,000 animals in 2010, and well below the estimate historic peak of 775,000 animals.
That’s despite a provincial ban on hunting, imposed in 2013.
In October, a federal advisory group — the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada — recommended the animals be declared endangered.
A coalition of Indigenous groups from Labrador and Quebec countered with a proposal to harvest 90 George River caribou in 2018, and to continue monitoring population cycles.
But there has been infighting among members, with the Innu Nation announcing that it would leave the group.
Byrne said the cooperation of Indigenous governments and organizations is essential if the herds are to recover, and the province is working closely with those groups to “determine the best path forward.”