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Fisheries agreement signed
Beaufort Sea management framework to protect local fisheries from encroachment by commercial fishing ventures

Cody Punter
Northern News Services
Published Monday, November 10, 2014

BEAUFORT DELTA
A new partnership between the federal government and the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation (IRC) will ensure that fishers in the Beaufort Delta will be protected from a potential onslaught of commercial fishing in the Beaufort Sea.

Last week, federal Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq announced the signing of the Beaufort Sea Integrated Fisheries Management Framework between Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the IRC, the Inuvialuit Game Council and the Fisheries Joint Management Committee.

"This agreement is a great example of cooperation between stakeholders, which will allow both Canada and the Inuvialuit to recognize their mutual responsibilities for the protection of the Beaufort Sea ecosystem," stated Aglukkaq in a Oct. 17 press release.

According to the agreement, small-scale Inuvialuit-based fishing operations will be given priority over larger-scale commercial fisheries when considering the expansion of the fishing industry in the Beaufort Sea.

Meanwhile, future commercial fishing ventures will only be considered after significant scientific studies prove that there is an existing surplus of the species they plan to fish.

The studies would also have to prove that the development of a new fishery would not negatively impact the biological productivity of species - such as Dolly Varden, arctic char, anadromous whitefish, seals and whales - that are fundamental to the Inuvialuit.

If a large-scale commercial fishing venture were to be approved. it would have to ensure that Inuvialuit would be guaranteed rights to proper and meaningful representation in the industry.

"The communities in the Inuvialuit Settlement region had concerns about maintaining the sustainability of the fish that they rely on as part of their subsistence lifestyle," stated Frank Pokiak, chair of the Inuvialuit Game Council. "This framework takes steps to ensure that the Beaufort Sea ecosystem stays healthy and can continue to provide for the needs of the Inuvialuit people."

Diane Ruben, resource person for the hunters and trappers committee in Paulatuk, said the community still remembers the effects of a commercial fishing operation that depleted its char stocks more than 30 years ago.

"There was a dramatic decline in our stocks in the 1980s," she said.

As a result of the overfishing, commercial fishing in the area was suspended with the creation of the Paulatuk Char Working Group in the late 1980s. Although the stocks have recovered since then, the community observes a voluntary limit for the harvest of char, with a maximum of 1,900 fish being caught per year.

Ruben said in recent years the demand for local fish is growing because Paulatuk's population is rising.

Given the fact that Paulatuk is already restricting the local harvest, Ruben said it is unlikely that the community will be able to support large-scale commercial fishing industry in the near future.

"We're not really in favour of commercial fishing," she said.

There are currently no commercial fishing ventures in operation in the Beaufort Sea.

There have been eight applications for exploratory fishing licences in the Beaufort Sea since 2002, six of which were approved, according to Rosaleen O'Mahony, regional communications manager for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

Of the six licences, which expired after one year, none resulted in a commercial harvest.

"A variety of factors including monetary concerns, inclement weather, or logistical issues are the likely explanation," O'Mahony stated in an email.

Due to privacy regulations, O'Mahony could not say why the other two applications, which were both filed since 2007, were turned down.

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