Northern shrimp. (Photo: DFO)

Strong shrimp market benefits Inuit organisation

CANADA
Friday, July 20, 2018, 02:40 (GMT + 9)

Nunavik Inuit organisation Makivik Corp. obtained high revenue in its 2017-2018 northern shrimp fishing financial year favoured by a strong market of the crustacean.

During the analysed period, the organisation earned CAD 7.2 million (USD 5.4 million) in fishing royalties this year from shrimp fishery, whose season ended March 31.

“The market seems to be steady,” said Makivik’s vice president of economic development, Andy Moorhouse.

Net annual revenue obtained by Makivik for the fishery grew from CAD 829.111 in 2011 to CAD 7.6 million in 2016, Nunatsiaq News reported.

“The prices for our northern shrimp remain strong and we are increasing our market in Europe. Northern shrimp is very popular in China and this is a market that we continue to develop,” Makivik said in a news release.

However, as the northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) stocks have not been steady everywhere in the North, now Makivik is working to strengthen a “secondary species” caught in waters between Baffin Island and Nunavik.

Moorhouse explained that Pandalus borealis is experiencing quota cuts in other fishing zones, a situation that has led them to catch Pandalus montagui shrimp.

Makivik’s vice president pointed out that at present there is no indication for any quotas being cut but that decision is made annually so they are building on the other species.

In Nunavik, Makivik harvests shrimp through joint ventures with third party companies like Newfound Resources Ltd, with whom it has been working for over 15 years.

Moorhouse stressed that the way licences and quotas are now, the organization is not likely to get its own vessels any time soon.

“It’s not economical with the licence that we have. And with it precarious, that we could have quota cuts depending on population, it’s just not stable enough,” he highlighted.

 
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