NUNAVUT - A commercial Arctic Char fishery should be further developed across Nunavut, not just off Victoria Island, according to a recently released Senate report.

Harvesting the fish commercially would create jobs and help the country assert its Arctic sovereignty, said Senator Dennis Patterson, vice-chair of the Senate committee on Fisheries and Oceans. He added the committee was "impressed" with the potential for social and economic benefits a commercial fishery could bring to communities.

The report, titled Management of Fisheries and Oceans in Canada's Western Arctic, looked at numerous issues related to fishing issues North of 60, which included the growth of commercial Char fishing in Nunavut.

"There is very good evidence that was presented to the committee that Arctic Char represents a good opportunity for economic growth in Nunavut," he said. "Unlike some of the other fisheries in the North, such as the shrimp and turbot fisheries off Baffin Island, the char fisheries employ fewer people for shorter periods of time."

In 2008, some 766 tonnes of shrimp valued at more than $15 million and nearly 7,000 tonnes of turbot worth $42 million were harvested in Nunavut, said Patterson.

"We also heard that there is much more Arctic char available to harvest in the western part of Nunavut," Patterson said, adding the fishing there could satisfy Inuit food needs. "There's certainly an opportunity to expand commercial fishing beyond the current level. Lining up with the traditional lifestyle and creating jobs within communities (is the goal), whereas the other fisheries in the North tend to be offshore and the local benefits are less tangible."

The committee recommended a federal-territorial working group develop a strategy to create a commercial Arctic Char fishery in Nunavut.

In Cambridge Bay, where, according to the report, the largest Arctic Char fishery in Nunavut is based, about 30 commercial fishermen participate in harvest during July, said Terry Puglik, a former vice-chair of Cambridge Bay Hunters and Trappers Organization.

He added fishermen can catch between 10,000 to 20,000 pounds of char in total in each of two local rivers.

"It (commercial char fishery) is a pretty good idea because we have a lot of lakes up here in the North," he said, adding they are within range of the yearly quota. "There is a few of the streams that have never been fished. We do have the sustainability going to other places to fish rather than just the same spot year after year."

Puglik said the commercial fishermen sell their catch to Kitikmeot Foods Ltd.

"There has always been a market for Arctic Char," he said. "It's always in demand. Sometimes demand is so great that we run short of the fish here to send to southern markets. Southern markets is one of our biggest customers."

Arctic Bay has about 10 Char fishermen who sell about 100 to 150 fish each a year, said Levi Barnadas, the secretary-treasurer for the Arctic Bay Hunters and Trappers Organization.

An expanded char fishery in the Arctic is a good idea but a study of the fish stock should be done first to determine its feasibility, he added.

"If there is a proper study being done, I think there is a market for Arctic Char," he said.

Baffin beneficiaries can fish for personal use and commercial fishing is permitted under the land claims agreement, as long as the person has a permit. Barnadas said some sell their catch to Pangnirtung Fisheries Ltd. while others sell to co-op stores, for instance.

In Gjoa Haven, people fish Arctic Char for their personal consumption, mostly in late July or early August, but no one fishes commercially in the community, said Teddy Carter, manager of the Gjoa Haven Hunters and Trappers Organization. He added a market exists for the fish.

"I think it (commercial char fishery) would work as long as they don't overfish the char," he said.

The federal government has 90 days to respond to the report, which was tabled in the Senate and presented to government earlier this month.

"I'm optimistic that our report will be taken seriously by the federal minister (of fisheries and oceans) and acted upon and by the territorial government as well," Patterson said.

Patterson would not provide a cost estimate to implement the report's recommendations.

"We've only come up with 14 recommendations," he said. "It's difficult for me to say which are most important or which should proceed first. I'd say they're all important. We want the government to take all the recommendations seriously."