Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Jan 14/02) - Freezers full of turbot and an extended working season should make for a celebratory atmosphere when the Baffin Fisheries Coalition meets in Iqaluit next month.

Peter Keenainak, the chair of the newly elected council, said last Wednesday the board needs to talk about last year's successful season and plan for the next.

The coalition, elected by adjacent Baffin communities and organizations in October, governs the turbot fishery that opened last year in Davis Strait and Baffin Bay.

As set by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Nunavut fishers are entitled to harvest 4,000 tonnes of turbot from the area.

Under the direction of the coalition, four foreign vessels and one Canadian boat began to fish for turbot Sept. 4. By the time the fishery closed on Nov. 1, Keenainak said a total of 2,452 metric tonnes of turbot worth an estimated $1.1 million had been caught.

The vast majority of the harvest was exported to Asian and European countries. However, as a sign of the benefits to be realized by the new economic opportunity, 200 tonnes of turbot -- about 440,000 pounds -- were offloaded at the fish processing plant in Panniqtuuq.

Keenainak said that meant four months additional work for as many as 30 employees.

Those are excellent results from the first year of the new fishery, said Carey Bonnell, the Department of Sustainable Development's director of fisheries and sealing.

Territorial government support

The department has provided substantial support to the coalition during the last year and is committed to continuing that support as the organization develops.

"The resource has a substantial economic benefit to Nunavut," said Bonnell, adding that Panniqtuuq's commercial freezers were never as full of turbot as they were this past season.

Bonnell said Nunavut's catch and the formation of the coalition will help provide communities along the coast with a much-needed financial boost.

Keenainak was also pleased with the first season, but he said the goal in 2002 was to catch the full 4,000 tonnes using a fleet of all-Canadian vessels.

A late start date meant Canadian fishers were already booked for 2001, but Keenainak said they wouldn't have the same problem in 2002.

"We're already getting calls from Newfoundland," he said.

Requests for proposals from interested parties will go out in the near future and harvesting is set to begin in July.

Details to be worked out prior to the start of the season include finalizing a three- to five-year business plan and setting up an employment and training plan.

Other matters to be discussed during the pending meeting include looking at ways to purchase a Nunavut-owned fishing vessel, setting up community-based fisheries in Central and North Baffin hamlets, hiring an executive-director and funding additional exploration and scientific surveys of the area.

The coalition has spent approximately $250,000 on administrative costs to date. It is hoped that the majority of profits will be funnelled back into further developing the fishery.

All 11 members of the coalition are expected to attend the meeting Feb. 6-7.