Milestone for fishing industry
Turbot offloaded by Arctic Fishery Alliance in territory for the first time
Myles Dolphin
Northern News Services
Published Monday, October 28, 2013
QIKIQTARJUAQ/BROUGHTON ISLAND
A group of determined hunters and trappers organizations from Baffin Island achieved a small but significant milestone in Qikiqtarjuaq on Oct. 17.
The Arctic Fishery Alliance vessel the Suvak, left, transfers its offshore turbot catch to its sister ship, the Atlantic Prospect, in Qikiqtarjuaq on Oct. 17. The Atlantic Prospect was expected to offload the turbot Oct. 25 in St. John's, N.L., where it would be processed before being exported to Asian markets. - photo courtesy of Lootie Toomasie
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The Suvak, a fishing vessel belonging to the Arctic Fishery Alliance, successfully transferred roughly 4,000 boxes of turbot to its sister ship, the Atlantic Prospect.
Crews used deck cranes to transfer the product while the vessels were anchored side by side.
The historic operation was the first for the consortium, which had previously been offloading its turbot in Nuuk, Greenland, due to that harbour's proximity to the fishing grounds.
With the transfer completed on Oct. 18, the Atlantic Prospect made its way to St. John's, N.L. where it was scheduled to arrive on Oct. 25.
The turbot will then be weighed, sorted and loaded into international shipping containers for export to Asian markets.
Arctic Fishery Alliance chairman and CEO Lootie Toomasie said the feat signals the need for a major harbour development project in Qikiqtarjuaq.
"It's the first time we've tried this and it really speaks to the fact that this can be done on this side of the Canadian border," he said, referring to the ability to offload fish within the territory.
"It means that Northern turbot can be handled in this area, which has never been done before. We have been trying to voice this out. An offloading site should be put in place here."
AFA general manager Harry Earle expanded on the benefits of creating a multi-purpose docking and offshore facility in Qikiqtarjuaq, adding it would allow vessels to fish for longer periods of time.
"The best location for such a development would be Qikiqtarjuaq as it has a naturally deep harbour, is protected from the weather, has modest rise and fall of tides and is situated closer to major offshore fishing grounds than any other Nunavut community," he said by e-mail.
"When a vessel leaves the fishing grounds it is not actively engaged in fishing and therefore not generating income. The losses from non-fishing time is substantial."
Nunavut participates in two major commercial offshore fisheries – shrimp and turbot – and is developing a smaller, inshore turbot industry.
The catch from the turbot fishery, as well as the Arctic char fishery, is processed at one of four Nunavut processing facilities but the offshore harvest is processed at sea on board the fishing vessels.
"Due to the lack of port facilities for larger fishing vessels (longer than 20 metres) in Nunavut, there are no options to land product in the territory," he said.
"Hence, the fishing vessels are forced to offload their catches elsewhere (Nuuk or Newfoundland). Furthermore, by offloading outside of the territory, the fishery is not able to maximize the benefits to Nunavummiut as major expenditures are lost to the economy of Nunavut."
The Atlantic Prospect had originally been scheduled to offload its turbot in Pangnirtung, where the opening of a small craft harbour took place Sept. 18.
Its facilities now allow larger vessels, such as those belonging to the Arctic Fishery Alliance, to dock and offload fish but both sides couldn't agree on a price for the turbot.
"We really wanted to offload our fish in Pangnirtung," said Toomasie.
"But their price was too low and they wouldn't change it, so we decided to go to Newfoundland."
