Pikialasorsuaq
Every winter countless seabirds, fish, and marine mammals gather in the waters between Avanersuaq (Northwest Greenland) and the Qikiqtani region of Nunavut to feed, mate, spawn and overwinter. The area is known as Pikialasorsuaq in Greenland, Sarvarjuaq in Nunavut, and as the North Water by others. It is not without reason that Pikialasorsuaq is called the playground of animals, as it is the largest and most productive polynya in the Arctic.
Yet many people have never heard of a polynya, let alone Pikialasorsuaq. Check out our animated video below to learn what it is, how it works, and why the area is so important to the surrounding Inuit communities in Greenland and Nunavut.
Pikialasorsuaq is vital to many migratory species and is recognized as an essential habitat upon which surrounding Inuit communities depend. It is therefore important to protect and manage it so that it can continue to exist in the future.
The polynya is already facing several immediate threats. Increased shipping traffic due to mining and other commercial activities poses a threat due to possible pollution as well as increasing man-made noise. Local communities on both sides of Baffin Bay are concerned about the possible negative effects on the environment and that the noise-sensitive narwhals could be scared away.
Climate change poses another threat. The bloom of phytoplankton in Pikialasorsuaq depends on the ice bridge in the Nares Strait between Greenland and Canada forming and keeping the drift ice away. If the ice bridge does not form, the drift ice blocks sunlight and reduces the bloom, affecting the entire ecosystem and the surrounding Inuit communities. It has already happened a few times over the past two decades and is likely to happen more often as the Arctic warms.
On the political level, a lot of preparatory work has already taken place from several sides to work towards Inuit-led protection and management of Pikialasorsuaq.
The Pikialasorsuaq Commission (2016 – 2018)
The Pikialasorsuaq Commission was established by the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) – Greenland and ICC-Canada in 2016 and worked for three years until 2018. Oceans North helped support the Commission’s work. The Commission released a report in November 2017 called “People of the Ice Bridge: The Future of the Pikialasorsuaq”.
This report is a reflection and summary of the testimonies from Inuit community members in Avanersuaq and the Qikiqtani region, and it provides background for the Commission’s recommendations.
The three recommendations are as follows:
1. Establishment of a management regime, with a management authority led by Inuit representatives from communities in the Pikialasorsuaq region, an Inuit Management Authority (IMA).
2. Identification, in consultation with the communities in and adjacent to the Pikialasorsuaq, of a protected area comprised of the polynya itself and including a larger management zone that reflects the connection between communities, their natural resources, and the polynya.
3. Establishment of a free travel zone for Inuit across the Pikialasorsuaq region.
Read the report and its summary here:
- Report of the Pikialasorsuaq Commission (2017)
- Executive summary: Report of the Pikialasorsuaq Commission (2017)
ICC has a Pikialasorsuaq website with more information about the project, the Commission, and about the polynya itself.
Read more here:
Since the Commission finalized its task, ICC-Greenland and ICC-Canada have continued to advance the implementation of its recommendations, especially in terms of formal recognition on a governmental level.
Oceans North Kalaallit Nunaat’s work with Pikialasorsuaq
At ONKN, we work to promote marine protection and the sustainable use of living marine resources. ONKN recognizes the profound cultural and ecological value of Pikialasorsuaq, and it therefore remains one of our important focus areas.
In relation to the ICC’s work with the Pikialasorsuaq Commission and its recommendations, ONKN particularly supports the first two recommendations: the recommendation regarding a bilateral, Inuit-led management authority, as well as the recommendation regarding the identification of a protected area and a surrounding management zone. Our sister organization Oceans North has in the past supported the work of the Pikialasorsuaq Commission with financial contributions and staff support.
ONKN is now continuing the dialogue with ICC-Greenland to enter into a cooperation agreement that supports ICC’s continued work around the implementation of the recommendations.
In relation to the Letter of Intent (LOI) between Canada and Greenland on behalf of the Kingdom of Denmark, ONKN wholeheartedly supports this important decision.
The LOI is an important first step on the road to realizing a bilateral Inuit-led management authority. It is also an important step towards having a protected area designated across borders. The UN Convention on Biological Diversity’s new Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework commits countries to protect up to 30 percent of their lands and waters. Protecting Pikialasorsuaq will be an important contribution to this from Greenland’s side.
Based on the signed LOI, ONKN calls for the Government of Greenland to set targets and a time frame for the next steps towards implementing the recommendations around an Inuit-led management and protection of Pikialasorsuaq.
More information:
Our sister organization Oceans North has a detailed description of Pikialasorsuaq on their website, including a collection of satellite images and timelapse videos (a series of images combined into a video) of how the sea ice develops in the polynya. Read more here:
