Abstract
A network of Indigenous co-management organizations is alive and robust within the management of fisheries in Canada and, subsequently, forms an important part of Arctic marine governance. This chapter examines Indigenous co-management in the Labrador Inuit Settlement Region of Nunatsiavut, Labrador through a case study of the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement and the Torngat Joint Fisheries Board (TJFB). Through an analysis of the continuum of control of fish management policies in Nunatsiavut, and the resulting social, ecological, and economic outcomes, of Northern Shrimp, Snow Crab, and Arctic Char case studies, this chapter will illustrate the opportunity to engage the co-management organizations and processes to create more value for Inuit communities, and opportunities to facilitate further Indigenous participation in fisheries – engagement which ultimately will create healthier communities and ecosystems. In so doing, this chapter argues for a shift away from legal interpretation of the land claims documents, and calls for more emphasis to be placed on the spirit and intent of these documents in order to encourage and initiate dialogues and actions that are intended to meet and exceed the objectives of the land claims themselves.
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Notes
- 1.
Examples of Inuit, marine, and land claim based co-management boards throughout the Canadian Arctic include the Torngat Joint Fisheries Board, the Nunavik Marine Region Wildlife Board, the Eeyou Marine Region Wildlife Board, the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board, and the Inuvialuit Fisheries Joint Management Committee.
- 2.
Northern Cod, for example, was harvested inshore by Labrador Inuit along the entire coast, both for subsistence and for commercial livelihoods. Interestingly, because the Northern Cod moratorium was in place while the Nunatsiavut Land Claims Settlement process was being negotiated, Cod was not included within the Labrador Inuit Land Claim Agreement. This means that should the Northern Cod fishery return, there is uncertainty around how the Land Claim Agreement will apply.
- 3.
While the Torngat Wildlife and Plants Co-Management Board is beyond the scope of this paper, for more information please visit: http://www.torngatsecretariat.ca/home/torngat-wildlife-and-plants-co-management-board.htm
- 4.
Today, various fisheries remain valuable in the Province, with an export value of almost $1 billion, and employment levels at nearly 18,000 people working in various aspects of the fishery (Community Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador 2015).
- 5.
The Nunatsiavut Government gained access to Northern Shrimp in Shrimp Fishing Areas (SFA) 4 and 5. The Zone makes up 23.9% of SFA 4 and 33.7% of SFA 5, but the Nunatsiavut Government only holds 5.1% of the quota in SFA 4, and 9.9% in SFA 5.
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Acknowledgements
This chapter would not have been possible without the support of the Torngat Joint Fisheries Board (Chesley Andersen, David Bonnell, John Mercer, Derrick Pottle, Craig Taylor, and Keith Watts), past board members (Eric Andersen, Joey Angnatok, Ricky Edmunds, Stanley Oliver, Alphonsus Pittman, and Alex Saunders), colleagues at the Torngat Wildlife, Plants and Fisheries Secretariat (Rosamond Andersen, Aaron Dale, Victoria Neville, Beverly White, and Bryn Wood), and past Torngat Secretariat colleagues (Julianna Coffey and Julie Whalen). Thanks also to the University of Guelph Department of Population Medicine. The work of the Torngat Joint Fisheries Board is tripartite funded by the Nunatsiavut Government, Government of Canada and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. Maps and figures created by Bryn Wood of the Torngat Secretariat.
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Snook, J., Cunsolo, A., Morris, R. (2018). A Half Century in the Making: Governing Commercial Fisheries Through Indigenous Marine Co-management and the Torngat Joint Fisheries Board. In: Vestergaard, N., Kaiser, B., Fernandez, L., Nymand Larsen, J. (eds) Arctic Marine Resource Governance and Development. Springer Polar Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67365-3_4
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