Stephan Burnett
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Oct 04/04) - The Nunavut government isn't happy with a new shrimp quota increase announced by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans last month.

The overall increase is 4,250 tonnes in Shrimp Fishing Area 1, located directly off the coast of Nunavut.

The department announced Sept. 21 that Nunavut will receive 2,833 tonnes, or 67 per cent, of the total increase.

Another 1,043 tonnes were awarded to southern fisheries and the remaining 187 tonnes were awarded to Makivik Corporation in Nunavik.

Ben Kovic, chairman of the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board, said Fisheries Minister Geoff Regan asked last spring for advice from the board about what to do with the new shrimp allocation.

"We stated in our recommendations that 80 to 100 per cent of the allocation go to Nunavut. That was our advice and then he turns around and gives us very little.

"It's so frustrating. What's the use of asking advice (if) they're going to ignore it anyway?" asked Kovic.

In June 2001, DFO created an independent panel on access criteria. The panel found that Nunavut does not have the same access to its adjacent waters as the Atlantic provinces.

Panel recommendations

The panel recommended that "no additional access to non-Nunavut interests in waters adjacent to the territory until Nunavut has achieved access to a major share of its adjacent fishery resources."

In May 2003, former Fisheries minister Robert Thibault announced the Northern shrimp quota would increase by 2,127 tonnes.

Nunavut's increase amounted to 1,083 tonnes, while 857 tonnes were awarded to the offshore sector and the remaining 187 tonnes were awarded to Makivik Corporation.

Premier Paul Okalik argues both increases contravene the findings of the department's independent panel on access criteria.

Wasted opportunity

He called DFO's decision a wasted opportunity in Nunavut's march toward economic independence.

Kovic wondered why Nunavut MP Nancy Karetak-Lindell and Nunavut Senator Willie Adams were not voicing Nunavut's concerns on the matter.

Kovic said Nunavut has the capability to take on 100 per cent of the new allocation.

"If they don't give us what we ask for, there won't be any capacity building," he said.

The issue is highly politicized, he said.

"As a whole, Nunavut has very little political clout in Ottawa," he said.

"There's a lot of pressure from other jurisdictions toward this. They intend to please southern interests."