[Narrator] Some of the largest concentrations of polar bears and beluga whales on our planet
can be found in Canada’s Western Hudson Bay.
Every year an estimated 55,000 beluga migrate here in summer as the sea ice melts.
A third of the entire global population.
But Hudson Bay is losing ice faster than most parts of the Arctic. So protection measures are crucial.
And a collaboration between local indigenous peoples and scientists is striving to create positive change
and a sustainable future. While there’s still time.
[Narrator] Today, over 30 Inuit and First Nations communities live in Western Hudson Bay.
A population of around 30,000 people.
Johnny has camped and hunted with his family here since childhood, and knows the landscape intimately.
[Narrator] Hudson Bay sits at the south of the Arctic, meaning it’s particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change,
as well as industrial activities like hydroelectric power development and increased shipping,
as the ice becomes less abundant.
So plans to establish a marine protected area here are hoping to enhance conservation efforts.
Making this coastal home, and the surrounding waters, a legally protected space
for both wildlife and local communities.
[Kristin] The most important part about developing a marine conservation area in this region is communication,
is dialogue with local Inuit, dialogue with the Aboriginal communities, dialogue with the community of Churchill,
and making sure that everybody is on the same page and wants the same thing.
If you don’t have people buying in, you will never have conservation. It just won’t work.
I study belugas, narwhals and killer whales in the Canadian Arctic.
So ice is incredibly important in Hudson Bay as it is throughout the Arctic. It’s the base of the food chain.
We have algae that grows underneath the ice, and from that we have the entire food chain,
the fish up through beluga whales, killer whales feeding on that system.
And so as that sea ice changes, so changes the entire ecosystem.
And we don’t know currently what the consequences of that change will be.
Currently, there isn’t a lot of resource development happening in this region. There is no commercial fishing.
And I think in Western Hudson Bay, as in many other places, it’s great to get ahead of the curve.
It’s very difficult once things are rolling to kind of pull back and try and protect things. So,
we want to be in a position as we are now, where we can protect things while they’re healthy.
[Narrator] Understanding the health of Western Hudson Bay over time is possible
because of a local site called Hubbard Point.
An archaeological site filled with relics from the past that is helping to uncover the history of this land,
the ecology and its people.
Once used by ancestors of the Inuit known as the Thule around 1,000 years ago.
Amongst the remaining structures of community that once existed here, the scattering of bones of whales,
seals, caribou and seabirds are signs of how biodiverse this area has been over time.
This is the polar bear bone. Hip bone. From a polar bear. And this is a beluga rib.
[Johnny] When I’m out on the land, I feel peace. Relaxed. No worries. It’s really good for your mind, for your spirit, your soul.
It really makes you feel comfortable.
[Kristin] I’ve been to Hubbard Point with Johnny and experienced how special that place is to him,
and clearly how special that place is to Inuit,
and not only how special it is in all of the history it holds, but also
how important that environment is and how important that environment was.
[Narrator] Combining data from Hubbard Point with the information scientists have about this ecosystem today
is creating an important baseline before the effects of climate change continue to accelerate.
[Kristin] We might see changes in the fish species coming in. We might see changes in the beluga migration itself.
We also might see a change in the shipping season and when vessels are able to make it into Hudson Bay.
Another change that we are seeing with climate change and we expect to continue
is a change in the top predator in Hudson Bay. And that’s the killer whale.
When you go into communities in Hudson Bay and ask them about killer whales, there’s a very short history
and less people who can tell you about killer whales and less knowledge within the community about them.
The fact that we’re seeing these animals move in in the last 100 years tells us a lot about how fast our climate is changing.
What effect does that have on beluga whales and the entire ecosystem, we have yet to uncover.
Conservation, to me, means looking forward.
So how can we keep things as they are or make them better for future generations.
[Narrator] And for Johnny, protection of this land is important for the future of culture.
