Our Approach

In much of Northern Canada, we work with Inuit communities that have a legal claim on the Arctic’s land and sea through constitutionally protected land claim agreements that act as modern-day treaties. Inuit bring a sophisticated ecological knowledge to marine conservation that is essential to building a healthy future.

In the Atlantic, we work with Indigenous groups and coastal communities that have a longstanding relationship with the sea and its resources in order to preserve and develop sustainable livelihoods.

Finally, we engage on cross-cutting issues such as climate change, which affect communities from coast to coast to coast. Our programs are built by listening, learning and understanding the unique challenges facing the communities where we work.

A few examples of our approach are:

• In Nunavut, Oceans North supported the Qikiqtani Inuit Association’s Tallurutiup Imanga (Lancaster Sound) report outlining Inuit land use and occupancy that is key to the establishment of a national marine conservation area in this region.
• In Labrador, Oceans North has partnered with the Nunatsiavut government to study a unique population of freshwater seals in the Torngat Mountain National Park.
• Oceans North has backed the efforts of the Nunavik community of Aupaluk to use traditional knowledge to document marine wildlife use of Ungava Bay in anticipation of increased industrial development.
• In the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Oceans North worked with the Inuvialuit Game Council on a three-year pilot program for community-based monitoring.
• Nationally, Oceans North has supported the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami’s Nulliajut project to gather Inuit views of the Northwest Passage.
• Internationally, Oceans North worked with the Inuit Circumpolar Council in both Canada and Greenland to establish an Inuit-led commission that made recommendations on how best to protect Pikialaorsuaq, or the North Water polynya.