Christine Kay
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (SEP 02/02) - How are Iqaluit's fish stocks doing? A research team from the University of Manitoba has spent the last two months collecting samples in hopes of finding out.

The study will help the Amarok Hunters and Trappers Association and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans learn if the area's fish populations are healthy or not. The comparison will be made between this study and the results from a study done in the 1950s.

"In the end, the community will have to resolve it. All we can do is give them the information," said Terry Dick, a zoologist at the University of Manitoba.

The research was done in several stages. It started by picking different sites, setting up some nets and collecting samples. The research team collected only the innards of the fish. They gave the rest back to the community.

The study will provide data on the growth rates, age and size of the char.

Other stages involved counting the number of fish in people's nets and surveying fishers on the quality, taste, colour and general appearance of their catch.

"It doesn't look quite as bad as we thought, but there seems to be a lot of young fish," said Dick.

This means many fish in Iqaluit's water may not be reaching sexual maturity. Char are supposed to spawn at between eight and 12 years of age, but Dick said it may be even longer in this region.

Accounts from residents gathered by the researchers show it used to take longer to catch fish, but they were bigger then.

Now, they said, it's easier, but the fish are smaller.

The results of the research are not complete and Dick said there is still no concrete information available.

"Without enough knowledge you can't make legitimate decisions on the resources," said Dick.

Data from the study should be available by late winter.