Disappearing walrus, new invasive species: Inuit discuss impacts of Arctic shipping
Qikiqtani Inuit Association president Olayuk Akesuk says Inuit should play role in collecting data
Qikiqtani Inuit Association president Olayuk Akesuk answers a question from National Inuit Youth Council president Gwen Natsiq Tuesday during the Ingiulik Nunavut Shipping Symposium in Iqaluit. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)
Updated Jan. 15 at 11:50 a.m. ET
Some Inuit are calling for the collection of baseline data to get a better sense of how Arctic shipping affects marine mammals.
The idea was raised by hunters Tuesday at the Ingiulik Nunavut Shipping Symposium in Iqaluit.
“We all know all communities have been affected,” said Olayuk Akesuk, president of Qikiqtani Inuit Association. “We know the ships are not going to stop. The Inuit organizations have to be involved.”
Akesuk made the comments as he fielded questions from National Inuit Youth Council president Gwen Natsiq during an afternoon presentation titled Leaders in Conversation: Shipping Impacts and Regional Priorities.
He said marine traffic, which includes industrial vessels to cruise ships and private yachts, is disrupting wildlife migration patterns and leaving pollution behind.
He warned the future is “not pretty” if Arctic shipping continues unabated.
Akesuk said he wants to see monitoring of shipping routes before, during and after vessels pass through Arctic waters.
A lack of baseline data is a problem, he said, adding the path to improvement should be propelled by Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, or Inuit traditional knowledge.
Several audience members chimed in with comments from the floor.
David Matoo, secretary treasurer of the Aiviit Hunters and Trappers Organization in Coral Harbour, raised a concern about decreased walrus numbers on Coats Island, about 140 kilometres south of the community.
The island used to be teeming with walrus, he said, but in recent years it has been empty.
“For the past two years we haven’t seen any,” Matoo said in Inuktitut, through a translator. “We’ll see one or two, but the island used to be full of walrus.”
Matoo blames years of industrial shipping traffic for the change.
“I have no data, but it’s true,” he said.
Iviq Hunters and Trappers Association chair Amon Akeeagok raised a concern about a shift in marine mammal populations he has observed while hunting in his region, which includes Grise Fiord.
“I am quite aware how mammals are affected,” he said. “The whales in our waters are not the same. They’re not from our area.”
Other delegates expressed concern about invasive species, including new insects and birds, appearing on the land and shore.
The four-day conference is co-hosted by Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., the representative organization of Inuit across Inuit Nunangat, and the Canadian Coast Guard.
The conference continues Wednesday and Thursday.
Note: Iviq Hunters and Trappers Association chair Amon Akeeagok was incorrectly identified in a previous version of this story
Need under water sensors to see how loud these ships are. This should be he first step As Buoys can with monitoring equipment can easily be set up.
The big ships emit low frequency noise. Small hunting boats with outboard motors are high frequency and louder. There’s already data out there to show this.
There needs to be data collected on how many animals are being hunted.
Over hunting can be a factor in the decline in marine animals. I have seen community posts, showing people hunting and entire pod of narwhal and balugas.
You can’t expect numbers to recover if you are over hunting.
Look at the massive vessels Baffin Fisheries is adding to its fleet. We have seen first hand down south what happens with you do sent annual quotas, over-fishing occurs which when impacts an entire slew of other marine life as the entire food-chain is disrupted.
DFO has continually failed to conduct sufficient surveys across northern waters. So what data are we actually working with to give the okay for Baffin Fisheries to go ahead with expansion of fleet and take more and more.
How does this impact other marine life food-chains?
And maybe how much they are taking is entirely appropriate but when you are also paying royalty payments to the HTO’s, the land guardians that are supposed to be monitoring things, it seems like a pretty big conflict of interest for the HTO’s.
According to the Canadian Ice Service, from 1969 to 2010, the average summer ice cover in Foxe Basin and Northern Hudson Bay had declined from 85,000 to 55,000 square kilometers, a drop of 35%.
Summer Ice cover continues to decline in the same region at an average rate of 7.4% per decade.
Also from the Canadian Ice Service, their Seasonal summary for 2024 indicates that the sea around Coats Island was ice free by August of that year, which is probably the new normal.
I refer to Canadian Ice Charts every summer. They consistently show where the ice is, and this is a highly useful tool for boating. It must be relied upon now because the condition of the ice can be so different week by week compared to our traditional knowledge and past patterns.
This is satellite derived, ground verified, highly accurate and precise baseline environmental information. The Coast Guard should be intimately aware of this data.
Walrus are ice dependent species. They need ice to live their normal lives and remain productive and healthy. Walrus often give birth on ice, and need ice above their feeding grounds to rest and nurse and protect their young.
In August, Walrus need to pack on 5% of their body weight in shellfish every day to make weight for the winter. Anything that affects their feeding effectiveness in August- like not having ice to rest on- is going to cause a big change in how these animals locate themselves.
The sea surrounding Nunavut is changing in fundamental ways, and today would be unrecognizable to our grandparents in their youth.
Climate Change is so obviously the predominate factor affecting our seas. Climate Change melts the ice. Ships travel through where there is no ice they have to deal with. Ice dependent animals move away from open waters.
That this topic was even put before this group might be more an artifact of what they want to talk about, other than the reality of what is actually happening.
It seems to much more a case of correlation than causation.
Absolutely correct in determining causes of the concerns. But make sure that science assists traditional knowledge. You can’t make the assumption that shipping (and there is relatively little) affects migration, or invasive species etc. but baseline information is essential as late as it is. Traditional knowledge can identify change, but let science identify why.
Traditional knowledge has become a confused concept that today many accept to mean “whatever an Inuk thinks” (biases and assumptions included).
If the term is to have real meaning in the modern age what counts and what doesn’t needs to be properly fleshed out.
there are nine communities with area co-management whats happening all acmc’s of each community met together during the year of 2k14. Maybe its time to call an meeting again 1st annual meeting took place in iqaluit, 2nd one on the year of 2k20 in cambridge bay. They were thinking of getting land patrol including sea patrol, whats happening now?.