NUNAVUT
"As a hunter, I want to keep hunting," said Johnny Issaluk, "but I don't want the animals to disappear."

Johnny Issaluk, an Inuit adviser for the Sedna Epic Expedition project, is happy he gets to see the ocean from the bottom. He and the Sedna team performed some practice dives in Iqaluit last week. - Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo

Issaluk, well-known in Nunavut as an Inuit athlete and performer, will be one of the Inuit advisers, along with Aaju Peter, joining the Sedna Epic Expedition project, a multi-year endeavour that started in 2014 and aims to discover more about Northern waters and what's underneath the surface, as well as mentor young Inuit women to become experts on the ocean.

The week of July 25, the Sedna team, composed of all women except for assistants and advisers, mounted an ocean change expedition outside of Iqaluit.

The team was busy conducting satellite tagging and a DNA collection research program on Greenland sharks.

Using mobile saltwater aquariums and underwater robots equipped with video cameras, the women and their Inuit advisers also delivered a Bringing the Ocean to Eye Level demonstration, an ocean community outreach program.

Team Sedna aims to mentor the next generation of Inuit leaders, introducing them to ocean-related careers.

That mentorship is where Issaluk comes in. He got his dry-suit diving certification just in time for the start of research this summer.

"I'm particularly interested in what's underneath," he said with eyes wide, looking up as if he were beneath the water already.

"I dove in different parts of the world, more in warmer climates, but I've never dove in the Arctic and I'm very excited about that. I'd like to see it from the bottom. I'm a hunter. I'm always on the top of the ocean chasing animals and enjoying it."

Ultimately, the final goal for Sedna will be in 2017, when the team aims to complete a 100-day snorkel relay of the 3,000-kilometre Northwest Passage from Pond Inlet to Tuktoyaktuk, NWT.

Issaluk, familiar with the people in the Nunavut communities, will help in the outreach department.

"It's very nice that they start with Iqaluit because I live here, but not only that, it's the capital of Nunavut and I think it's going to be a good way to introduce Nunavut to what this important expedition is all about," he said. "We're going to involve people in the community and elders and have an aquarium set up that showcases what's underneath the water, and we're going to also put bait in the ocean hoping to see Greenland sharks."

Issaluk grew up in the Arctic and couldn't wait to get started with the project.

"I'm very connected with communities because I care, I have family everywhere and friends all over the Arctic," he said July 26. "I'm just trying to do my best to give the information out, the picture of what the focus is on with Sedna Expedition. I really admire and respect what the women are doing. I'm in awe because it's happening, it's today, our first day of touring and exploring is today, diving tomorrow."

Team Sedna also announced it entered into a multi-year partnership with First Air to assist with travel costs during the expedition.

"We're pleased to partner with First Air," stated Calgary-based Susan Eaton, founder and leader of the 2014-18 Sedna Epic Expedition, in a news release.

"First Air's extensive experience in operating in remote areas across the Arctic will enable us to conduct scientific research and to deliver our community outreach programs focused on ocean education and climate change mitigation strategies."