Nunavut fishery pushes for extra turbot allocation

Nunavut fisheries officials say they should benefit from a boost being recommended to the turbot fishing quota in the Davis Strait.

The Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization, which manages fishing in the Davis Strait, recommended a 25 per cent increase to the overall quota there last week.

The organization will meet this fall to decide whether to approve the new quota. If it is approved, then it will be up to federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea to decide how the increased catch would be distributed.

"We would only expect that the current minister would ensure that the full amount would go to Nunavut," said Jerry Ward, chief operating officer with the Baffin Fisheries Coalition in Iqaluit.

The coalition is the largest player in Nunavut's fledgling fishing industry. Ward said it's currently the only fishery that has seen increases in catches.

Ward said the recommendation to boost the turbot catch in Davis Strait is based on sound science and will likely go ahead.

Seeking equity, parity

The Nunavut Wildlife Management Board says local fishermen have made strong arguments in favour of full access to any increase in the quota.

"That's all that Nunavut is asking for — equity and parity with its neighboring jurisdictions all along the Atlantic coast," said Michael D'Eca, the wildlife board's legal counsel.

Nunavut controls 27 per cent of the turbot quota in the area where the increase would take effect. By comparison, other Canadian provinces control between 80 to 95 per cent of their adjacent fish stocks.

The Nunavut Wildlife Management Board took Ottawa to Federal Court over a 2008 decision to reallocate existing turbot stocks to companies outside the territory.

D'Eca said the court's ruling, released in January, favours local fishermen and ensures Nunavut's interests will be consulted on any new quota allocations.

"From that point onwards, the judge was clear that things have to change," he said.

Officials with the wildlife board, the Nunavut government and land-claims group Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. will press the federal government for full access to the increased turbot catch, should the new quota be approved.

"They're going to raise economic dependency, historical attachment, aboriginal and land claim rights and obligations. And they're going to raise … equity with the rest of the jurisdictions along the Atlantic coast," D'Eca said.