Nunavut buying fish research vessel

Fisheries officials in Nunavut hope a new government-owned vessel will help them better understand the territory's fish and other marine resources.

Little is known about the extent of fish stocks in Nunavut's waters, and that has held up development of the territory's commercial fishery.

So the Nunavut government is in the process of buying a $2.5-million fishing vessel that will allow researchers to find out where marine species are located, as well as determine their populations.

"There's huge gaps in knowledge base, and we know there's traditional knowledge — there's clams, scallops, kelp," Wayne Lynch, the Nunavut government's director of fisheries and sealing, told CBC News on Thursday.

"We know these species are there. In what commercial quantities and locations are still to be identified. We have two-thirds of Canada's coast line and we have a lot of missing information."

The 19.5-metre vessel will also be used to perform hydrographic surveys and respond to oil spills. It is expected to be in Nunavut waters by next summer.