Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada (Northern Contaminants program) have been working with Nunavut community Hunters and Trappers Organizations and the
Nunavut Wildlife Management Board consistently since 1980 to collect samples from harvested ringed seals. The majority of seals were measured in the field by Inuit hunters who recorded date of kill, sex and blubber depth at sternum (0.5 cm). The data from the harvested animals are used to evaluate stressors and overall seal health, in the Canadian Arctic.