PANNIQTUUQ/PANGNIRTUNG - Gill nets won't be used this summer to fish turbot inside Cumberland Sound as originally hoped by Pangnirtung Fisheries because the local hunter and trappers association says the nets are harmful to other animals.

Stelie II crew member Jason Kakee holds up a turbot caught in Cumberland Sound using long lines baited with squid last October. Gill nets will be not be used to fish turbot this summer inside the sound. - photo courtesy Kendra Ulrich

"The nets catch marine mammals other than fish and it reaches all the way under the sea and they go deep," said Peterloosie Qappik, HTA president in Pangnirtung.

The Development of Cumberland Sound's Inshore Fisheries project had intended to test the use of gill nets in the sound this summer along with different gear types and vessel sizes. This is the second year of the project, which started in the summer of 2009.

General manager of Pangnirtung Fisheries Don Cunningham said it is unfortunate they won't be able to test gill nets in the sound.

The plan was to test two sizes of gill nets - a five and half inch mesh and an eight inch mesh, both of which were going to be approximately 183 metres long and 46 metres down (600 feet long and 150 feet down).

The intent of using the gill nets was for exploratory purposes to see how many fish could be caught using a different gear type, said Cunningham. The same nets are used for char in the Davis Strait. He added there would have been strict controls on the use of the nets

Wayne Lynch, the GN Department of Environment's director of fisheries and sealing, said his department requested and supported the use of gill nets inside the sound this summer.

He said it is harder to catch fish that are moving or eating using long lines.

"Using long lines alone doesn't give you an accurate snapshot of the turbot fishery in that area," said Lynch.

Lynch said due to the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, the HTA has the authority to decide whether gill nets will be used in the sound. He said gill nets are known to catch more fish faster.

Cunningham said he thinks the HTA is basing its decision on the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Science branch, which does not approve the use of gill nets in the sound.

Gill nets and long lines will both be used this summer in area 0B, 12 nautical miles or just over 22 kilometres outside the sound. Even though area 0B extends into Cumberland Sound, it is a Nunavut Settlement Area where different rules apply.

"It is not so strong a test as it would have been with gill nets but it will still be a test none the same," said Lynch.

Local fishermen who use gill nets for char inside the sound will be able to do so, said Lynch.

In addition to looking at gear types, sizes of boats are being tested to see what works and will fit with the new small craft harbour that is being built. As late freeze-ups and early break-ups are gradually reducing the ice fishing season, Lynch said the next logical step is to develop a summer fishery.

Pangnirtung is allotted 500 tons of fish for the whole year. Ice fishermen always have the first chance at the quota as it is taken from Jan.1 to Dec. 31. Last year, ice fishermen caught 160 tons of fish. Cunningham said this year they will be lucky if they catch 40 tons.

"Personally I don't see them ever catching that 500 tons through the ice anymore because of climate change. There are not as many fishermen doing it anymore and it is not something young people seem to be getting into," said Cunningham.

Both Cunningham and Lynch agree that no matter what type of netting is used to catch the fish, the ultimate goal is the same.

"The goal is to have a sustainable fishery that brings employment," said Lynch.