| dc.description.abstract | With the decline in sea-ice cover in the Arctic, shipping is expected to increase in the eastern Canadian Arctic. While sea ice is often perceived as a threat to marine transportation, Inuit rely on the sea ice for travel and hunting. Thus, the loss of sea ice and increasing shipping activity threatens Inuit traditional way of life and food security. Tallurutiup Imanga is a proposed National Marine Conservation Area (NMCA) located in the North Baffin region of Nunavut. Commercial and recreational fishing, shipping and tourism are permitted within the NMCA and will continue to be regulated under existing legislation. This region has been identified as a high-risk shipping corridor due to the presence of environmentally sensitive areas and the likelihood to affect Inuit harvest areas and travel routes. However, the potential impacts of shipping on traditional harvesting and the seasonal variability of these interactions are not well understood. Harvest and vessel traffic/automatic identification system (AIS) data were mapped and analyzed to identify their spatiotemporal interactions in two communities adjacent to the NMCA, Arctic Bay and Pond Inlet. A policy analysis of the regulatory and non-regulatory measures for Arctic shipping in Canadian waters was undertaken to identify potential management gaps in the current governance frameworks. The results of the policy and spatial analyses found a lack of protection of Inuit marine and coastal use areas and harvest areas within the existing policy tools. Integrated coastal and ocean management (ICOM) is the proposed management approach to plan and manage activities within the NMCA. Improved coordination in the planning and management of the NMCA is required to minimize shipping impacts on Inuit traditional harvesting.
Keywords: eastern Arctic; traditional knowledge; Tallurutiup Imanga; Arctic Bay; Pond Inlet; shipping; traditional harvesting; food security; integrated coastal and ocean management; National Marine Conservation Area | en_US |
