Jennifer McPhee
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (June 24/02) - After several hours of debate at a public meeting last Tuesday, the Amarok Hunters and Trappers Organization voted to ban all recreational activity indefinitely on set areas of the Sylvia Grinnell river.

HTO members also unanimously approved a five-year ban on netting and snagging.

They voted for no snagging anywhere on the river. The ban on netting and recreational activity, which includes motorized boats, kayaks and swimming, extends upwards from an area just below the falls. It is the narrowest area of the river, where fish are most concentrated.

The HTO hopes the ban will boost the arctic char population as it did during a similar closure between 1983 and 1987.

A final decision on the harvesting restrictions is up to the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board.

As for the boating ban, the HTO has no authority over non-members. However, it is consulting with the Coast Guard and the community in hopes of coming up with a enforceable order.

In the meantime, HTO chair David Ell said all residents should respect the decision.

"Let them face us," added member Sytukie Joamie. "We will approach them and say you are not adhering to the people's wishes."

A small minority of people at the meeting opposed the kayak restriction.

Suzanne Laliberte said the Frobisher Bay Kayaking Club uses the river for a few weeks each summer to train youth for competitions in white water. "These youth love the sport and they want to learn," she said. "We are giving them a goal. We are talking very much about things like suicide prevention."

Abraham Tagalik also argued against closing the river to kayakers. He said diminishing fish stocks are likely the result of overfishing, not kayaking. "I don't think (kayaks) are doing anything to the river."

Tagalik also suggested the kayak ban was motivated by politics rather than conservation.

But the vast majority of HTO members argued the river is not for recreation. Some recalled how, years ago, they weren't even allowed to throw a pebble in the river because that was considered recreation.

"It's good that people can alleviate social problems through recreation activity," said Joamie. "But recreational activities are not the priority of the HTO. Our priorities are wildlife ... we want you to understand that. That is a strong belief."

He said if airplanes constantly flew over him, it would bother him. "Similarly, fish are in the same boat with boats hovering over them daily."

About 60 people attended the meeting, hosted jointly by the HTO and DFO.

Arctic char studies

Karen Ditz, a biologist with DFO, said studies in other areas about how boating affects fish are inconclusive. She said it's impossible to "make generalized statements on what might be happening on the Sylvia Grinnell."

However, as a result of the HTO's concerns about depleted fish, DFO scientists will begin a three-year study of the arctic char stocks this summer.

The study has three phases. During the first phase, DFO will interview fishers about the size and number of fish they catch. Community monitors will measure and weigh fish, remove fish heads and examine ear bones to determine the age of the fish.

Ditz said providing the information is voluntary, but she is urging people to help out. The study will also involve test netting, a final stock assessment and peer review.