Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

Panniqtuuq (June 03/02) - Like looking for a needle in a haystack is how two frustrated participants describe trying to tag narwhals in Cumberland Sound.

Both Moe Keenainak, the manager of the Pangnirtung Hunters and Trappers Association, and Jack Orr, a member of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, said the 23-day project was difficult.

"We had these tiny little nets in that amount of water in Cumberland Sound," Keenainak said.

Keenainak and six other Panniqtuuq residents took part in the $26,000 tagging project between May 4 and 26.

Keenainak said the group saw narwhal, beluga and bowhead whales, but given that their nets were stationary, it was difficult to lure one from a big body of water into a small net.

Orr said the weather also played a role.

"Winds were breaking up the ice and blowing pack ice onto the floe edge. Then there was a snowstorm," said Orr.

This is the second season during the team has tried to place satellite transmitters on the whales. Poor ice conditions also got in their way last year.

The next step is to approach the HTA's membership during an annual general meeting in January 2003 to ask their permission to try a third time.

Orr said they will approach the community with a revised plan. They hope to try for a third time to tag narwhals from the floe edge, but they'd also like to tag belugas in open water later in the season.

"It all depends on funding from the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board and DFO and on the acceptance of the people in Panniqtuuq," said Orr.

Transmitters could let wildlife officials track the whales and learn more about their behaviour. With enough data, it may be possible to set better quotas.