Sanirajak - ᓴᓂᕋᔭᒃ

Sanirajak is next to Foxe Basin is on the eastern side of Melville Peninsula. The waters surrounding the Hamlet are rich in nutrients that support abundant walruses, seals, narwhals, belugas, and bowhead whale populations. Residents are employed in various occupations, including tourism, and participate in the traditional economy and harvesting of country food. The community’s hunting and fishing area spans approximately 600km north to south, 400km east to west, and encompasses the Foxe Basin and northern portions of the Foxe Channel, Fury and Hecla Strait, and southwestern portions of the Gulf of Boothia including Committee Bay.

The CRN research team visited the community in March 2018. Team members held participatory mapping workshops with the Hunters and Trappers Association, Hamlet staff, Elders, and other resource users, collecting observations on coastal health and changing coastal conditions. Participants provided all data illustrated on this map.

Coastal issues included: rivers becoming shallower; animals moving to deeper water; and shifts in wind directions. All rivers were becoming shallower, with new rocks being observed every year. Although fishing is still good and boats used to travel to the area, but now even canoes run aground going upriver. Belugas are moving further out but are still the same in numbers. Causes for these changes included the waters becoming too shallow and increasing boat traffic. There has also been a shift in wind direction from NW to N, resulting in ice crashing into the shore.

At the time we visited the community, no urgent community restoration priorities were identified. However, based on other studies coastal restoration priorities include economic development studies (e.g., narwhal tusks carvings, seal skin and meat products, and bottled glacier water, halibut and char fisheries, hunting, and infrastructure development). There is also a need for coastal erosion prevention and mitigation studies as there are few opportunities for land development.

To learn more about Sanirajak (English version), please download our research profile here. If you would like to view the Inuktitut version of our research profile, please download here.

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