Baffin Fisheries jockeys for bigger piece of Nunavut shrimp quota

Baffin Fisheries is concerned it will get a smaller share of the shrimp stock when the Department of Fisheries and Oceans announces its new quota for Inuit fisheries in Nunavut.

Two weeks ago the federal fisheries minister stated he will likely scrap the controversial Last In, First Out (LIFO) policy. Now, Nunavut's Inuit fisheries are anxiously waiting to see what will come in its place.

"We always want more quota," said Methuselah Kunuk, vice-president and vice-chairman of the board of Baffin Fisheries.

Baffin Fisheries, the largest harvester of shrimp in Canada's North, has been expanding. Earlier this year it announced that it owns 100 per cent of its vessels, and is hiring new employees.

The company is concerned that once the new shrimp allocations are announced it will be forced by the DFO to concede some of its allocated quota to its competitors.

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"In one of the quotas we have a 100 per cent and the other guys got nothing on it," said Kunuk.

"Looks like they try to cut 30 per cent out of our 100 per cent quota and give it to someone else, to us that's a reduction."

Recently there's been some debate at the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board (NWMB), which manages wildlife resources in the territory in accordance with the land claim agreement, on how shrimp stock is divided among Nunavut's four fishing companies.

Baffin Fisheries wants to ensure that decisions made by NWMB on shrimp allocation are respected and not superseded by any new policies dictated by the federal government.

"We'd like to see what was initially the NWMB recommendation followed," said Kunuk.