The Nunavut government has cut its polar bear hunt in western Hudson Bay by nearly one-third out of renewed concerns that the bear population in that area is in trouble.

Environment Minister Patterk Netser said the total allowable harvest for polar bears will be reduced, effective immediately, from 56 polar bears to 38.

The move comes five months after his department held a special hearing in Arviat to discuss hunting levels in the area. Inuit hunters, organizations and the Canadian Wildlife Service were consulted before the quota was cut, Nettser said, adding that the decision was based on both Inuit knowledge and western science.

"We monitor the populations, and if we have to reduce the quota to ensure that they're perpetually there all the time, then we do that," he said Thursday. "If the numbers are increasing, then we increase the quota."

Nettser said it's now clear to the Nunavut government that the polar bear population in the western Hudson Bay area is not doing well. And it may get worse: preliminary results from a government survey found no significant migration of bears further north in Hudson Bay, meaning more quota cuts could be coming.

"We're just analyzing the information," Nettser said. "If there's no new significant numbers [showing] up on the survey then we have to reduce it downwards, reducing down to eight next year."

The decision to cut the polar bear hunt quota was based on sound management practices, Nettser added, not international pressure due to concerns that shrinking sea ice is threatening the bears' survival.

Dr. Ian Stirling with the Canadian Wildlife Service applauded the cut, pointing out that as recently as 2005, the polar bear hunt was increased.

"We had several indications for two or three years, at least, prior to when the quotas were increased that the population, in fact, was decreasing," Stirling said.

He said his studies in Western Hudson Bay show that shrinking ice is affecting the survival of both adults and cubs.

At the same time, the Nunavut government has also faced criticism from Inuit that it has been favouring western science over the knowledge of Inuit hunters. Many hunters maintain that the western Hudson Bay polar bear population is rising and there have been bears migrating further north in Hudson Bay.