Iqaluit (May 01/06) - To increase chances of getting more quota, commercial fishing companies in Qikiqtarjuaq and Clyde River joined forces early last week.

Elko Angutikjuak holds up a blue halibut while out on the sea ice near Clyde River. He is a member of Mammaqtulirijiit Fisheries Corporation in that hamlet. The corporation joined with Masiliit Fisheries in Qikiqtarjuaq in the hopes of getting most, if not all, the turbot quota increase. - photo courtesy of Nick Illuaq

Masiliit fisheries in Qikiqtarjuaq and Mammaqtulirijiit fisheries in Clyde - both 100 per cent Inuit-owned - are in a joint venture agreement with the Labrador Fishermen's Union Shrimp Company. This company has what the Nunavut communities need - two fully equipped fixed gear 110-foot fishing vessels.

The plan is to charter these vessels to fish any additional quota the two communities may receive - namely part or all of a 2,500 tonne turbot increase. The joint venture agreement states that, at first, six of the 15 jobs on each boat will be filled by Inuit fishermen, said Masiliit's fishery advisor Harry Earle.

The agreement also allows the Nunavut companies to make payments on the boats, and in doing so gradually employ more Inuit.

The final deal, however, is based on whether the new partnership receives the increased quota for the northern coast of Baffin Island, also known as Area OA.

The Nunavut Wildlife Management Board sent its recommendation to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans on April 26. The department has 60 days from the time it receives the letter to make a decision.

"They usually make the decision pretty quickly," said NWMB chair Joe Tigullaraq.

The board has not said what its recommendation on the quota was.

So far the two communities involved are optimistic. Through translations by Harry Alookie, Masiliit president Koalie Kooneeliusie said the CEO of their major competitor - the Baffin Fisheries Coalition - voiced support for the small communities getting some quota.

"The BFC, based in Iqaluit, has indicated they are in full support of Masiliit's mandate," said Kooneeliusie in a telephone press conference April 25.

The BFC - which has six member communities and four individual members - has a stronghold over most of the previous 4,000 quota in Area OA. The coalition has also applied for the additional 2,500 tonnes.

In a press release announcing the partnership, Kooneeliusie stated that when BFC's chief executive officer, Jerry Ward, met with Masiliit, which is supported by the Nattivak Hunters and Trappers Organization, in November 2005, Ward said, "the quota should be allocated to benefit the communities based on the criteria of adjacency, historical attachment and economic dependence with Pond Inlet, Clyde River and Qikiqtarjuaq having priority."

In a March 2005 House of Commons Fisheries Committee hearing, Ward said, "The big issue, and to clarify it again, is that there will be increases in OA in the future and we are on record, very clearly, saying that we support Nattivak HTO and other in-shore communities to get a portion of that allocation to benefit their communities. They have every right to it and we support their efforts."

BFC president Ben Kovic explained that BFC believes adjacent communities should benefit the most, but noted the HTOs in Clyde River and Pond Inlet - which are adjacent to the resource - are members of the BFC.

"The new allocation of 2,500 tonnes should be distributed fairly. It should go towards who has the most productive programs and what the revenue will be used for in terms of training, vessel acquisition, infrastructure and the percentage of revenue that goes back to the communities," said Kovic. "The BFC is a very good deal for its membership."

Nick Illuaq, president of Mammaqtulirijiit, says small, coastal communities need the quota more than anybody. "If we don't get this quota, it is a chance at a better way of life just thrown away. Our unemployment rate is very high."