The Nunavut Coastal Resource Inventory

Nunavut has an abundance of aquatic, marine and coastal organisms that span an area so large that there is a lack of ‘western science’ knowledge about them. However, the Inuit in Nunavut have been observing these species... [ view full abstract ]

Nunavut has an abundance of aquatic, marine and coastal organisms that span an area so large that there is a lack of ‘western science’ knowledge about them. However, the Inuit in Nunavut have been observing these species for centuries and have extensive knowledge about them. The Nunavut Coastal Resource Inventory (NCRI) is a project that collects and documents this Inuit knowledge in an effort to document baseline ecological data for use in management decisions, all the while documenting knowledge from elders before it is lost.

This research has been on-going since 2007.  Presently, the Fisheries and Sealing Division of the Government of Nunavut has completed NCRI interviews in all 25 Nunavut communities and now has a comprehensive dataset of the presence and distribution of aquatic and coastal species in the territory. Since community knowledge is readily available and western science methods are typically quite slow, the NCRI allows early detection and reporting of areas or species of concern, thereby helping community leaders and management bodies make informed decisions and taking early and preventative action. The data also helps identify community priorities for research and opportunities for economic development.

In addition to community reports that are published, an online atlas is being developed that centralizes the data and allows communities to input observations on an ongoing basis. It is interactive, open source and allows audio, video, and photo upload, making it a more holistic story telling tool