Jerry Ward quits Baffin Fisheries Coalition; Adamee Itorcheak takes over

Adamee Itorcheak of Iqaluit is the new president and CEO of the Baffin Fisheries Coalition. (FILE PHOTO)

Jerry Ward, seen here last November, has resigned as president and chief executive officer of the Baffin Fisheries Coalition. (FILE PHOTO)

Adamee Itorcheak of Iqaluit will serve as the new president and CEO of the Baffin Fisheries Coalition, following the resignation of Jerry Ward, who has held the position since 2001.

“We are delighted that Adamee has accepted this position,” the BFC said Oct 1, in a news release.

“He will continue to prioritize Inuit employment and empowerment while enhancing the contribution of the BFC in particular, and the commercial fishery in general, to the Nunavut economy.”

The BFC formed in 2000 after the federal government awarded 100 per cent of the turbot allocation in a new management zone in Davis Strait and Baffin Bay called “0A” to Nunavut interests.

The BFC partnership originally consisted of hunters and trappers organizations and some small community-based firms. It’s now made up of some hunters and trappers organizations.

Through a subsidiary called Niqitaq Fisheries Ltd., which in turn holds interests in three other subsidiaries, BFC vessels now fish for turbot and two species of shrimp in waters off the east coast of Baffin Island.

BFC also holds a majority interest in a big factory-freezer trawler called the MV Inuksuk and is a 100 per cent owner of two fixed-gear factory freezer vessels, the MV Sikuvut and the MV Arluk II.

Right now, BFC holds allocations for 5,070 tonnes of turbot and 7,676 tonnes of shrimp.

Itorcheak takes the top job at BFC after working for six months as the firm’s executive director.

Prior to that he worked for two years as Inuit crewing officer and spent two years working with the Nunavut Fisheries Training Consortium.

“Our primary objective from the management of our companies and operations of these vessels is to maximize the benefits of our fishery to Nunavummiut, both in financial performance and in human resource development,” Jacopie Maniapik, the chair of BFC’s board, said in the news release.