Kirsten Murphy
Northern News Services

Cape Dorset (July 16/01) - Ice has interrupted one of Cape Dorset's best whaling seasons in recent memory.

Southerly winds blew pack ice to shore in early July, preventing boat passage in or out of the community.

Weeks prior to the buildup, hunters took six belugas and one narwhal just off the floe edge. Residents said it's been almost a decade since a narwhal was killed in their community.

Wildlife officer David White said people await the return of open water. "It's not serious. It's just going to take a couple days or weeks before the winds shift, taking the ice with it," White said.

The closest community, Kimmirut, was spared a similar fate.

At least one family extended a camping trip due to the impassable ice. Rescuers returned the unharmed family to Cape Dorset by canoe. Small vessels have been navigating through cracks of open water. Bigger boats are not moving.

Someone answering the phone at the Aiviq Hunters and Trappers Association said hunters were eager to return to the water -- especially with talk of more narwhals nearby.

"Once you get past the ice, it's all open. The weather's been really nice, not cold at all. We just have to wait," she said.