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Baffin Fisheries Coalition reels in two new catches

Chris Windeyer
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (May 08/06) - Members of the Baffin Fisheries Coalition were all smiles Wednesday as they announced two new deals they say will help the fishing industry in the Eastern Arctic grow.

A deal with the Torngat Fish Producers Co-operative of Labrador means BFC vessels will fish 430 tonnes of turbot quota which will be processed at the plant in Makkovik, Labrador.



Ben Kovic, president of the Baffin Fisheries Coalition, is pleased as punch over a deal that brought Pangnirtung Fisheries and Cumberland Sound to BFC. The fishing coalition also announced a deal with the Torngat Fish Producers, which will see the Labrador-based company process 430 tonnes of turbot quota. - Chris Windeyer/NNSL photo


BFC president Ben Kovic said the deal will help expand the fishing industries in both Nunavut and Labrador.

"If we try to do it alone, we will not grow," he said.

The 100 per cent Inuit-owned Cumberland Sound Fisheries also made a pact with the coalition. The fishing company has a yearly quota of 750 tonnes in area OB, which, under the new agreement, will now be fished by the BFC.

In return, the company will receive royalty payments from BFC.

As stated in a BFC press release, a portion of this quota - 250 tonnes - will be delivered to the Pangnirtung plant, which is owned by Pangnirtung Fisheries - 51 per cent Nunavut government owned and 49 per cent Cumberland Sound owned.

"By working together, we can benefit all involved. In particular we can ensure that a portion of the OB turbot harvests are off-loaded at the plant, where it will be further processed and provide employment at the plant," said Cumberland Sound chair Joopa Sowdluapik.

Last year, Cumberland Sound's quota was fished by Newfoundland Resources - a consortium of inshore fish plant operators from coastal Canada.

Pangnirtung Fisheries split from the BFC two years ago, but rejoined last year when the BFC struck a deal where 200 tonnes of quota would be delivered to the plant annually.

Pangnirtung fisheries chair Jacopie Maniapik says the new deal was struck to boost employment in a struggling community.

"Over the next few years the plant will have certainty regarding the supply of OA turbot to the plant. As a result the overall employment and production at the plant will increase," says Maniapik. "(BFC) has always recognized the importance of supplying turbot to the Pangnirtung plant and the jobs that it creates at the local level."