Iqaluit (Aug 18/03) - The Baffin Island Fisheries Coalition has run two training courses and trained 24 personnel recently to work on offshore fishing and factory freezer vessels.

Gerry Ward, CEO of the Baffin Fisheries Coalition, says there are a dozen people who have run through the training program currently working within the industry.

Fishing vessel workers are paid based on the percentage of the catch.

"The catch depends on the independent vessels, but owners have to be competitive and reasonable in order to get workers," says Ward.

The Baffin Island Fisheries Coalition is looking to secure funding for the acquisition of a fishing vessel. This type of vessel would be 60-metres-plus in size and run in value from $15-$25 million, depending on whether it was bought new or used.

The vessel could employ between 45 and 60 people and has the potential to return $15-$20 million a year.

The Baffin Fisheries Coalition is upset over a recent decision by the federal government to limit Nunavut's share of the shrimp fishery.

The coalition is also wary the same thing might happen on a pending quota decision for turbot.