Backgrounder - CanNor Supports Inuit-Owned Fisheries in Nunavut
CanNor: $424,744 over two years
Niqitaq Fisheries: $600,000
The Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor) is supporting the fishing industry in Nunavut by investing $424,744 in Niqitaq Fisheries Limited. The funding will assist Niqitaq Fisheries to purchase 49 percent of the non-Inuit shares of the company. Niqitaq Fisheries is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Baffin Fisheries Coalition, a not-for-profit Inuit organization made up of hunters and trappers organizations and businesses from the Baffin region.
Niqitaq Fisheries currently owns 100% of one vessel and 51% of two vessels. With this contribution they will own 100% of the second vessel, the Sikuvut. Niqitaq Fisheries uses the three vessels to fish for Greenland halibut and northern shrimp in Nunavut's adjacent waters and off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. The fish are harvested, processed and packaged on the vessels and shipped to consumers in Asia and Europe.
Ongoing public and private investment in commercial fisheries in the Baffin region has resulted in increased Inuit vessel ownership, increased fishing quotas for Nunavut-based fishing interests, and training and employment for Nunavummiut. Commercial fisheries contribute $12-14 million to the territorial economy annually and provide more than 300 seasonal jobs.
This investment is made possible through CanNor's Aboriginal Business Development Program (ABDP) which provides business development support to Aboriginal entrepreneurs and organizations.
ABDP is one of several economic development programs within CanNor. CanNor is responsible for coordinating and delivering Canada's economic development programs across the North, and for related policy development, research and advocacy.
