Jillian Dickens
Northern News Services

Broughton Island (Sep 26/05) - The Nattivak Hunters and Trappers Association are going offshore fishing.

The group has been given the right to fish outside the Nunavut Settlement Area, marking the first time any fishing company, besides the Baffin Fisheries Coalition, has been able to do so.

The Nunavut Wildlife Management Board agreed to allow Nattivak to fish its 100 tonne turbot quota in the deep waters off Qikiqtarjuaq, within a 30-mile offshore limit.

It made a recommendation to the federal department of Fisheries and Oceans on Sept. 21 and the request was granted the next day.

"This is very significant to us because this is what we have been seeking for some time - the right to fish turbot offshore anywhere in area OA," said Seemee Nookiguak of Nattivak.

Masiliit's boat, the Genny and Doug, sailed to Qikiqtarjuaq to pick up additional crew and began fishing this quota immediately, said Nookiguak.

The Baffin Sound will continue fishing in area OB for a week or so before joining it.

While the news is good for Masiliit, Nookiguak is worried at the way the decision was transmitted.

On Sunday, Sept. 11, the Masiliit Corporation - a Qikiqtarjuaq-based, Inuit-owned company stemmed from the Nattivak HTA - engaged in an experimental turbot fishery restricted to a 12-mile onshore limit.

Masiliit's 89-foot gillnetter The Baffin Sound and her 11 crew members searched the relatively shallow waters for three days without finding more than a few hundred pounds of turbot. On Wednesday, Sept. 14, losing money, they stopped fishing, and requested the board allow them to fish further offshore where large quantities of turbot are known to exist.

They wanted access to this fish to enable the company to make money while one of its smaller boats - the Gaski - carries out the test fishery, along with the larger boat. The Baffin Sound drifted for three days waiting for a response from the board.

On Friday, Sept. 16, the company gave up and headed 250 miles south to fish the quota there.

It turns out that the day before this, at a meeting in Iglulik, the board had decided to extend the restriction, but hadn't informed anyone from Nattivak of this decision. This was despite frequent phone calls and e-mails from Nattivak, Nookiguak said.

"We are very disappointed in the manner in which this was handled," said Nookiguak. "Had we known about this decision on Thursday, or even by Friday, we would not have sent our boat south. We would have kept our boat here and completed our test fishery in the waters outside our community."

Jim Noble, president of NWMB, informed Nunavut News/North last Tuesday that Nattivak's request was approved. At this time Nattivak still had not been informed of this decision.

When asked why Nattivak wasn't informed sooner, Noble said: "Number one, we have to get home. Number two, we have to write an official letter, and number three, we don't work on weekends."