Lake Harbour (Apr 19/04) - Arctic char in three Kimmirut lakes are being analyzed by a researcher with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to see whether or not a commercial fishery will be viable in the region.

This is the second year this research has been conducted. It's part of a five-year program the Hunters and Trappers Organization in Kimmirut applies for each year.

"Members have been requesting this for the past while," said Martha Padluq, manager of the HTO.

This year, three people from Kimmirut were hired to guide the researcher and set up the nets for testing at Anaqtuajuarjuk Lake, Qivianganiq Lake and Qinngu Lake.

A minimum of 200 fish per lake is considered promising to the DFO, Padluq said.

The researcher, scheduled to wrap up her work on April 23, spends about five days counting and assessing the quality of the char in each lake.

"There weren't many fish in one of the lakes," said Padluq.

Padluq also said that if a commercial fishery did start up, the HTO should keep a close eye on it.

In recent years, when hunters noticed the fish were getting smaller in the region, the HTO decided fishers needed to back off. The plan worked and the fish did return to a larger size.

"It was the HTO board's decision," she said.