Baffin Inuit org wraps up community consultations on seismic testing

The Qikiqtani Inuit Association held workshops in east and north Baffin communities to gather Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit on areas that might be impacted by a seismic testing survey — such as this area near Qikiqtarjuaq. The five-year seismic survey is scheduled to begin in Baffin Bay and Davis Strait during this year’s ice-free season unless a federal court challenge is successful in stopping it. (FILE PHOTO)

The Qikiqtani Inuit Association says it remains opposed to seismic surveys in the waters of the Baffin region, until surveyors account for hunters and harvesters’ knowledge of marine life in the area.

The association’s president, PJ Ageeagok, says the QIA also supports the Clyde River Federal Court case against a proposal to conduct seismic surveys in Baffin Bay and Davis Strait this year.

“QIA continues to be opposed to the proposed seismic survey until Inuit concerns have been met and we support Clyde River in their efforts to stop the seismic survey,” Akeeagok stated in a news release, April 7.

That same day, the association wrapped up a series of workshops on seismic testing — the use of sound-emitting technology to explore potential oil and gas reserves on the sea bed — in seven Baffin communities closest to Baffin Bay and Davis Strait, where surveyors plan to start work this summer.

The QIA will use information compiled from hunters, harvesters and other residents who shared their knowledge of marine life in each of the communities “to develop Inuit evidence” on areas that should be “completely exempt from testing or subject to special measures to limit or mitigate potential impacts to Inuit,” the QIA said in its news release.

The association held its seventh and final workshop in Iqaluit April 7, after similar Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit workshops on traditional Inuit knowledge in the communities of Kimmirut, Clyde River, Pond Inlet, Arctic Bay, Qikiqtarjuaq and Pangnirtung.

Communities’ concerns centre around the effect seismic tests could have on sea life, which is the basis of livelihood for many residents.

That includes includes marine mammals such as narwhals, belugas, bowhead whales, seals, walrus, and various species of fish and clams, said Olayuk Akesuk, community director for Cape Dorset.

“The biggest concern that we heard [from the communities] was the migration routes of animals, and how they would be affected by seismic testing,” Akesuk told Nunatsiaq News, April 8.

Residents of Clyde River and Pangnirtung turned out to their workshops in particularly large numbers, he said — although that was not the case in Iqaluit where no one came.

Residents’ concerns were not limited to the effect of seismic surveys on wildlife, Akesuk added.

“People are also interested in finding jobs. There’s a lack of jobs in Baffin Island, so that’s what they want to see in the future too, is to benefit as much as possible if anything is going to be done in Baffin Bay and Davis Strait.”

For that reason, “not everybody” in the seven Baffin communities QIA consulted is against seismic testing, and oil and gas development that may follow, Akesuk said.

“There are some people that are for it, for job security.”