Nunavut’s commercial fishery nets big catch in 2011

Niqitaq Fisheries Inc. staff package their catch onboard the Inuksuk I. (PHOTO COURTESY OF BAFFIN FISHERIEIS COALITION)

Nunavut’s environment minister Daniel Shewchuck says the territory’s commercial offshore fishery continues to grow as a sustainable resource for economic development.

In a minister’s statement read in the legislative assembly Oct. 31, Shewchuck said Nunavut has made huge strides in its coldwater shrimp industry.

Until recently, Shewchuck said little effort has been made to secure the more than 10,600 tonnes of shrimp quota in Nunavut’s waters.

That’s because most of the shrimp quota for Nunavut’s offshore waters is licensed to international operations.

But last year, the local fishery harvested 3,000 tonnes and that number is expected to grow to 4,000 tonnes in 2011, Shewchuck said.

“Such significant returns will continue to benefit Nunavut and the fishing industry,” he said. “We will continue to support this work and ensure the strong sustainable fisheries industry continues to grow in Nunavut.”

Shewchuck said all 9,350 tonnes of Nunavut’s turbot quota off the coast of Baffin Island would be fully harvested in 2011.

That’s in addition to the 500 tonnes of inshore turbot quota available to local fishers in Cumberland Sound.

Nunavut has also seen a strong demand for Arctic char inside and outside of the territory, Shewchuck said, almost doubling the commercial production of the fish species to over 200,000 pounds.

“[Fish plants] are continuing to seek out additional sources of supply, providing new economic opportunities through Nunavut,” he said.

The industry also got a boost in 2011 with the addition of the Government of Nunavut’s new research vessel, the MV Nuliajuk, Shewchuck said, which completed its first season of research in Cumberland Sounds and offshore of Clyde River and Qikiqtarjuaq.

But local fisheries also say they need more support to develop their industry in Nunavut.

At a recent conference in Iqaluit, Baffin Fisheries Coalition CEO Jerry Ward called on the territorial and federal governments to sink more money into marine infrastructure in Nunavut to help support its fisheries, which he said have room to grow.