Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

NNSL (Nov 09/98) - Fishing is not a new activity for the people of the small Belcher Islands community of Sanikiluaq.

But commercial fishing is and, if all goes well during the next few months, the hamlet of 700 residents could see a little more income being generated right on its own shores.

So says Lucassie Arragutainaq, the manager of the local Hunters and Trappers Association.

"This is the second summer we've been doing this and we found some good beds for scallops mainly around the Sanikiluaq area, within 20 or 30 kilometres," says Arragutainaq.

He explains that the accessible location and the sheer number of scallops leads him to believe that a commercial fishery is possible and has the ability to provide much needed jobs and dollars for community members.

"We started thinking, maybe we can do something around here, find ways for people to have a little income."

Enter Newfoundland's John Melindy, the owner of Ecological Resources and Associates. Long involved in helping Nunavut and Labrador communities develop a commercial char business, the former fisher turned consultant heard that residents of Sanikiluaq needed help in running a test fishery.

"The first year, we tried everything," says Melindy, before narrowing the scope this past summer and targeting Icelandic scallops.

Good numbers of clams, sea urchins and sea cucumbers were also located, but, he says, divers will look farther away from the community next summer in an effort to avoid interfering with local diet.

"You can't go in and destroy the resource. People would have no food left and the fishery can't be at the expense of traditional food," says Melindy.

The next step in the scallop process is to conduct a feasibility study to examine the costs and methods involved in getting the scallops out of the water and into a steady market.

With plans to be a part of that study, Melindy says many factors have to be considered, including evaluating the amount of time it takes new scallops to grow to replace those that are harvested, the best methods of processing the species and the logistics and costs required to transport the scallops out of Sanikiluaq.

"A lot of infrastructure is already in place and that makes it very attractive, but the cost of transportation may kill it."

Sanikiluaq residents will decide if they want to pursue the commercial fishery sometime after the GNWT sponsored feasibility study wraps up by the end of December.

"There's a lot of variables and we'll point out all the options, but, basically, you want something that's going to create a lot of employment."