Qikiqtaaluk Corp. may lose $2M as a result of cuts to East Coast shrimp quota

Qikiqtaaluk Corporation, which had one of its vessels damaged earlier this year from striking ice, is now concerned reductions to the Northern shrimp quota for offshore trawlers in Nova Scotia will hurt its bottom line even more.

The quota reduction affects many companies in Nova Scotia. However, Qikiqtaaluk, the biggest fishing company in Nunavut, also fishes those waters during the winter months.

"Having this other announcement is another blow," said Harry Flaherty, president and CEO of Qikiqtaaluk Corporation. 

"Let's just say that 2016 hasn't been a very good year so far."

Qikiqtaaluk lost approximately $4 million when the F/V Saputi struck ice in February. It had to be shipped to Poland for repairs and the company also lost months of valuable fishing time, said Flaherty.

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Now, the Fisheries and Oceans Canada announcement on quote reductions means Qikiqtaaluk may lose an additional $2 million in shrimp stock, said Flaherty.

"It may also affect our ship Saputi in terms of downtime. During the winter we may have to not fish for a certain period of time."

Two weeks ago the federal fisheries minister stated he will likely scrap the controversial Last In, First Out (LIFO) policy.

Last week news came that the total allowable catch for the 2016-17 season in Area 6, off northern Newfoundland and southern Labrador, will be 27,825 tonnes, a 42 per cent cut compared to last year's catches.

Flaherty said he hopes the minister will announce favourable quotas for Inuit fisheries in Nunavut.

"We've always been optimistic and something positive will hopefully come of it down the road," said Flaherty.

It's not all bad news, said Jerry Ward, chair of the Nunavut Offshore Allocation Holders Association, which represents Nunavut's offshore fishing industry.

While the cuts to the shrimp quota off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador will have a negative impact on the winter fishing season for Qikiqtaaluk, that loss may be balanced out by an increase in the shrimp quotas for Inuit fisheries.

Currently, Nunavut only gets a fraction of the shrimp stock under existing LIFO rules. The territory has access to 38 per cent of its adjacent northern shrimp stock in comparison to the 80 to 90 per cent given to other jurisdictions.

Ward said he is optimistic the minister will implement the recommendation of an independent review to develop specific policies and programs to address the historic inequity between Indigenous fisheries and their counterparts.

"In regards to the adjacency issue, in regards to Aboriginal land claims, I think we'll do all right," said Ward.