An Inuit community on a remote island chain in the southeastern corner of Hudson Bay is once again looking to the sea to provide for the community, as it has for centuries.
Nestled among the two-billion-year-old folds of sedimentary rock, basalt and iron known as the Belcher Islands, Sanikiluaq is a partner in WWF-Canada’s community-based fisheries program.
WWF-Canada has been worked with Nunavut communities towards building a sustainable “blue economy” — which is an ocean-based economy incorporating not only financial prosperity but also positive impacts for communities and ecosystems — through development of small-scale commercial fisheries.
As with many Inuit communities, Sanikiluaq residents harvest much of their food from the sea, including seal, walrus, beluga and Arctic char. Sanikiluarmiut also look deeper when it comes to seafood, and it isn’t uncommon for mussels, scallops, sea stars, sea urchins or sea cucumbers to be on the dinner table or over the cooking fire.
Working with communities like Sanikiluaq to develop sustainable economic activities like small-scale fisheries is especially important because there are few other economic options. There are some carvers, weavers and people who make winter clothing stuffed with eiderdown. There are also existing mining leases for iron on the Islands, but the community has strongly opposed development of a mine.
But a small-scale commercial fishery will allow local harvesters to make the community more food secure, not only by harvesting shellfish but by providing income which can be put towards costs that come with harvesting other country food like fuel, ammunition, boats and ATVs.
Starting in 2019, WWF-Canada and our research partners at the Université de Quebec a Rimouski and Memorial University in Newfoundland have been working to better understand the scallop, sea urchin and sea cucumber populations around the Belcher Islands.
This includes doing biological sampling and doing underwater video surveys of potentially abundant areas for these species. We have also sampled mussels, sea cucumbers and urchins from areas that are important to the community’s subsistence harvest to also contribute to their understanding of those areas.
After our first harvesting surveys in 2019, planning began in earnest for the 2020 open-water season. But as with every other facet of our lives, it was disrupted by the pandemic. This was especially true for Sanikiluaq, which was the site of Nunavut’s first confirmed COVID cases. Thankfully, by coordinating with partners at the local Hunter and Trappers Association, samples for 2020 were still able to be collected.
Fast forward to 2021 and travel restrictions were loosened, allowing our staff and partners from southern Canada to travel once again to Sanikiluaq. This trip was an opportunity to meet with our partners at the local Hunter and Trappers Association board and hold an open meeting for all members of the community as well as doing more harvest sampling.
Hearing from community members, Elders and hunters about where our target species can be found is essential to our research. Helping our researchers understand the currents, flows and how ice forms in particular areas help us understand the locations with the most ideal conditions for shellfish habitat.
Establishing a sustainable small-scale fishery in Sanikiluaq that draws on fisheries research expertise from academic partners and the collective knowledge of local hunters and harvesters is an essential demonstration of the potential for a blue economy in Nunavut.
By working together, this research can underpin decades of sustainable economic activity in Sanikiluaq while reinforcing traditional subsistence harvesting.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says the country’s merchandise trade deficit narrowed to $1.3 billion in September as imports fell more than exports.
The result compared with a revised deficit of $1.5 billion for August. The initial estimate for August released last month had shown a deficit of $1.1 billion.
Statistics Canada says the results for September came as total exports edged down 0.1 per cent to $63.9 billion.
Exports of metal and non-metallic mineral products fell 5.4 per cent as exports of unwrought gold, silver, and platinum group metals, and their alloys, decreased 15.4 per cent. Exports of energy products dropped 2.6 per cent as lower prices weighed on crude oil exports.
Meanwhile, imports for September fell 0.4 per cent to $65.1 billion as imports of metal and non-metallic mineral products dropped 12.7 per cent.
In volume terms, total exports rose 1.4 per cent in September while total imports were essentially unchanged in September.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
