Sanikiluaq has high hopes for newly completed docks
Hamlet sees potential to attract tourists, allow establishment of a fishery
When Sanikiluaq’s new docks go in the water next year, hopes are that they will serve as a point for tourists to disembark and also allow the community to establish a fishery.
The docks, which have tie-ups for 32 boats, were completed Monday. They’re being stored on land for now as winter approaches.
Although boaters won’t be able to enjoy the docks this year, the hamlet’s senior administrative officer Ron Ladd is looking to the future and the prospect that they’ll boost the local economy.
“The whole idea is to get the commercial fishing up and running here and to establish some jobs,” he said in an interview.
“The floating docks will not only enable local harvesting of food and that for families, which we need because of food insecurity, but also it may lead into a larger fishery that may be sustainable like they have in Pangnirtung and some other communities.”
Kakivak Association covered the cost for the hamlet to hire students to build the docks.
Ladd also touted the prospect of using them for transportation.
Sanikiluaq’s location on Hudson Bay is relatively close to the Nunavik communities of Umiujaq, Kuujjuaraapik and Inukjuak.
With the many family connections that exist between those communities, Ladd sees the docks as a safe point of arrival for people travelling for visits.
Ladd also wants to welcome people from the south to Sanikiluaq.
Some Nunavut communities already serve as cruise stops. For ships anchored in Hudson Bay, the new docks can serve as a point to disembark in Sanikiluaq.
“I’ve reached out to our partners who do the cruises and I’ve let them know that we are open for business and we would love to have one of the ships parked out in the bay,” Ladd said.
“If you put the structure or the model in place for business to thrive, then people will come here and we’ll do that.”
Bunch of wood oh yes gonna attract people alright 😂
Better set up marine lights and security camera s which to vandalism , thefts and so much.
Educate people that it’s a dock, not a boat. Too bad if the unaware try taking this out to sea for a ride. Some communities have been known for kids and immature adults to use all kinds of floating materials to joy ride. It’s a dock, not a boat.
Are there going to be an interpretation Center for tourism. Would be nice too, if they include the massacre of the 1940s for tourists. The time when a resident was God and another was Jesus, and had innocent people walked out with no clothes on to the frozen ice. These movements were all thru the north, and the after effects are still there. Theres still that potential to devastate within the sects today. Like Jesus is coming soon beliefs. These wooden structures are doing it traditional way.
Is it still a full/new moon? These comments are full of joy and happiness 🙄
New tourists spot for Nunavut, that island in the south, no other country passport needed.
Must feel good to have a dock. All those sea ports around the country will now follow suite.