Inuit hunters in the Baffin Island community of Pond Inlet say they must cull up to 200 narwhal trapped in the ice nearby that will die if left there for the winter.

At least 200 whales are trapped in open areas of water near Bylot Island, about 17 kilometres from Pond Inlet, as the winter ice sets in around them.

Local hunters from the community of 1,300 discovered the trapped narwhal on Saturday. They checked on the animals again Wednesday morning, said Jayko Allooloo, chairman of the Pond Inlet hunters and trappers organization.

"About a couple of weeks ago, when the ice was still moving, there were … quite a few narwhal seen out there in the open water," Allooloo told CBC News on Wednesday.

"About a week later, they're stuck."

Allooloo said it's rare to have so many narwhal trapped in the ice all at once. The whales were probably entrapped while migrating in October, he added.

Hunters planned to cull all 200 whales on Thursday, going on the advice of elders who say the whales will otherwise die from a lack of oxygen as the ice grows thicker around them.

"It's really deep ocean in the Pond Inlet area … with that many [narwhal], they would die when the ice is getting thicker," Allooloo said.

Allooloo estimated there are about 11 areas of open water where the narwhal can breathe, but they don't have much room to move around when they do come up for air.

Pond Inlet hunters are allowed to harvest only 130 whales each year, according to standards set by the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Department officials say they are monitoring the situation in Pond Inlet.