Qikiqtarjuak looks to cash in on clams

DENISE RIDEOUT

IQALUIT — An untapped treasure lies deep beneath the waters surrounding Qikiqtarjuaq.

There, on the ocean floor, are millions of clams that bear a striking resemblance to the shellfish that are hot in Asian markets right now.

Described as being of similar size and texture to the highly sought-after geoduck clams, Qikiqtarjuaq’s clams may bring a much-needed boost to the community’s economy.

“There’s so many clams in the water — it’s estimated at $900 million worth of clams in the water — that we could make an industry to support this community,” said Don Pickle, the hamlet’s senior administrative officer.

For many years Qikiqtarjuaq residents have been donning scuba gear and diving to the ocean floor to dig for clams. But it’s only recently that they’ve discovered the sheer quantity of the shellfish.

A 1997 Department of Fisheries and Oceans study put the number of clams near Qikiqtarjuaq at 34,000 tonnes, or 68 million pounds.

With that many clams, Pickle is confident the community has the potential to create a viable fishery.

The clams, measuring three to six inches thick and described as having a succulent taste, have already caught the eye of a Southern company.

Hi-To Fisheries, a Vancouver-based company specializing in seafood, urged Pickle and several clam divers to come visit their fish plant last week. While there, the group also talked about a potential business deal.

“This Vancouver company is very interested in opening up a new market and marketing these to Asia as a mini-geoduck,” Pickle said.

Tom Sakata, a marketing employee with Hi-To Fisheries, said after tasting the clams he thinks they could be marketed to Asian buyers.

“The product we looked at was good,” Sakata said.

He’s cautious, though, about raising people’s hopes. As he points out, no business deal was signed.

The community’s SAO remains optimistic the fishery will take off.

“It’s not concrete in that we’re not going to be shipping clams out tomorrow. But it’s concrete in that as soon as everything is set up and operating, we have a buyer waiting for our product,” Pickle said.

There’s a lot of hope surrounding the clam fishery.

Qikiqtarjuaq is one of the “have-not” communities in Nunavut.

It hasn’t benefited from the territorial government’s decentralization plan. There are few places to work in the community other than the two grocery stores and the hamlet office. Pickle estimates 80-90 per cent of Qikiqtarjuaq’s residents don’t have full-time employment.

“There’s no industry here. There’s no economic base,” Pickle said. “The clam industry could change Broughton Island forever.”

If all goes according to plan, the clam project could employ up to 50 people.

“We have four divers right now, but we can’t produce enough products for this buyer. So, we need to get more divers,” Pickle explained.

In order to meet the demand Pickle figures they’ll need 25 divers working full time. Another 25 people could be employed if a processing plant were built on site there.

From the start, community members have taken the lead in getting the ball rolling.

“It’s very community-driven. It was identified by the community as an economic priority,” said Tia Nukiwuak, the economic development officer.

She said people aren’t willing to sit around and wait for things to happen.

“We really have to do this on our own,” she said.

To make all this a reality the community has to secure hundreds of thousands of dollars. Pickle estimates it will cost $240,000 just to train the divers.

So along with Nukiwuak, he’s busy putting in proposals to the GN and the Kakivak Association for training money.

The pair is banking on the money coming through so that diving training can begin this summer.