Iqaluit HTA wants Sylvia Grinnell River closed

MIRIAM HILL

Iqaluit’s Amarok Hunters and Trappers Association wants Sylvia Grinnell River closed to fishing, motor-boating and kayaking for the next five years.

At a meeting earlier this month, members passed a motion to ban all fishing and boat traffic in the river below the falls.

“No nets and no jigging for five years — no fishing in that area,” HTA president David Ell said in an interview. “It’ll be marked. And no boats will be allowed up the river.”

The plan is to allow fish stocks to rise. The river once had an abundance of large Arctic char, but now the number and size of the fish have dwindled.

“There are some fish there right now, but we want more. In the future we might even try to get commercial fisheries in there,” Ell said.

Such a closure has been successful in the past. In 1982, the HTA closed the river to fishing for five years. The ban covered an area extending 100 metres past the falls. Fish stocks rose after the closure and, Ell says, it’s time for that to happen again.

The association will ask the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans for fish stock information and for help monitoring the situation.

The HTA has not determined how far from the falls the ban will be imposed, but Ell said there are some areas already marked.

HTA has authority over the river

Karen Ditz, a fisheries management biologist with DFO, said the HTA has the power to close the river, though the association did consult the department before imposing the ban.

“It’s up to the HTA to let us know how they want to go about this management measure,” Ditz said. “We’re prepared to act in a number of ways, but it depends on what the HTA is looking for. They may ask us not to do anything if they want to take care of this themselves.”

Ditz said low fish stocks in the river is a concern for DFO and is on a list of topics to be addressed by the department. “There have been concerns for a number of years and this is no surprise to anyone,” she said.

However, Ditz couldn’t say whether DFO will also issue a variance order to close the river. She said the department must still meet with the HTA to determine what results the closure is intended to produce.

For example, if the closure is to be a recovery method — a way to boost the number of fish in the river — Ditz said DFO wouldn’t necessarily issue a closure order.

She said, sometimes, banning fishing in one area results in just as many fish being taken from another area, and the stock continues to be depleted.

But Ditz said she’s interested in hearing traditional knowledge on the subject and finding a balance between tradition and science.

The impact of boats on fish stocks is a subject Ditz said DFO is less able to assess. “This is part of traditional knowledge as well,” she said. “If traditional knowledge suggests that this is a bad idea, then we support that decision.”

The ban on boats in the river was met with virtually no opposition at the last meeting of the HTA, Ell said. In fact, the association heard complaints at its annual general meeting this summer about a jet boat company that tours the river each summer.

Glenn Williams runs Tukturjuk Outfitting, a jet boat company in Iqaluit. “I understand the HTO is concerned about conservation issues on the river,” Williams said, adding he is waiting to hear exactly what those concerns are.

When he uses the river, he said, the fish are already out in the ocean. “The fish run out with the high water,” he said. “I’m only running for three to four weeks in June.”

Williams said the situation is an important one because the river is one of Nunavut’s true gems. “I can see why it used to be one of the biggest fishery rivers in Nunavut,” he said. “Everybody would like to see it back like that.”