July 2007 was the last time we were allowed to host guests in Igloolik, Nunavut on our walrus and bowhead whale adventure.
Almost immediately following our trip a Paul Nicklen article was published in the National Geographic detailing the Inuit narwhal hunt in Arctic Bay, Nunavut, a community with close ties to Igloolik.
On November 30th 2007, the Igloolik Hunter Trapper organization passed a motion putting a two-year moratorium on walrus sport hunting, filming, photography and watching.
We can only speculate if there is a correlation between Paul Nicklen’s story and the walrus ‘moratorium’ in Igloolik and similar reception to tourism in neighboring communities of Arctic Bay and Pond Inlet.
Without success, since November 30th, 2007, Frontiers North has worked hard with our local supplier, Nunavut Tourism, the Nunavut Government and with our contacts who live and work in the north to better understand the goal of the moratorium and what is going to happen at the end of two years.
There was an article published in the April 2009 edition of Canadian Geographic that has shed some light on Paul Nicklen’s motivations.
Hopefully we can soon resolve this issue as we have a pent-up demand from guests interested in traveling to — and investing their money in — Igloolik.
