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The Arctic Fishery Alliance's vessel, the Suvak, off the coast of Greenland this past October. The AFA hopes to acquire a second identical sister-ship in the coming year. - photo courtesy of Harry Earle, AFA

NUNAVUT
From May to November, internationally-owned deep-water vessels ply the seas between Nunavut, Iceland and Greenland where, 3,000 feet below lurks a lucrative industry of Northern turbot.

However, the Arctic Fishery Alliance, an upstart collaboration comprised of hunters and trappers organizations from Qikiqtarjuaq, Resolute, Arctic Bay and Grise Fiord, says a "reasonable request" to double its catch quota from 1,500 tonnes to 2,900 was denied because the organization isn't judged by the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board to be Inuit-owned.

"One reason in the denial was that we're not Inuit enough," said AFA chairman Lootie Toomasie. "Our faces are not painted to look like Inuit. This is who we are. We run this company. We're the directors and policy advisers."

The board judges organizations using a point system, with points added for positive factors and subtracted for negatives. According to the board, it was concerned the AFA was largely under the control of its non-Inuit management, and a perceived lack of control and input from its Inuit management.

The AFA responded to that decision with a letter signed by the four Inuit board members - who comprise the full board - agreeing that they do have say on all major decisions, do have a significant level of control in the business and do set policy.

Of the four current Nunavut-based quota holders, the AFA is the only enterprise exclusively dependent for its income on the turbot fishery, which fetches $5,000 per tonne. In 2010, the fledgling AFA purchased a vessel, the Suvak, and had it modified and upgraded for northern frozen-at-sea fishing operations. The Suvak's crew of 14 - four of whom are Inuit - have had only two seasons of fishing off the coast of Nunavut. This is a sore point for the AFA, which operated amid better-developed fishing companies.

The boards report card to the AFA also cites that not enough money was made in its first year, a point the board rejects since capital gained in its first year went to pay for the Suvak and into reserve for next year. The AFA intends to purchase a sister-ship to the Suvak, the Atlantic Prospect. The committee also gave the AFA a low score in "Benefits to Nunavummiut," which mayors representing the four AFA communities and HTO chairs discussed when they met Nov. 8 in Iqaluit.

"The communities will not gain the economic or social benefit (of an expanded quota, due to this decision)," said Grise Fiord deputy mayor Laisa Audlakiak-Watsko. It was a sentiment echoed by Quttiktuq MLA Ron Elliot.

"When you have communities like Grise Fiord that don't have one of these big, blue [government] buildings as a major source of employment, maybe there should be some fairness in that regard," said Elliott.

Since there's a finite quota, the risk is that the AFA will be frozen for the next five years, unable to grow.

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