More orcas coming to Nunavut waters due to declining sea ice: researcher

By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News Around 200 killer whales are migrating through waters near Arctic Bay, and those numbers are increasing, according to Department of Fisheries and Oceans researcher Cory Matthews. The whales, also called orcas, don’t all come at the same time. But the predators eat beluga, narwhal, bowhead whales, hurting the hunting opportunities for the local community. Matthews has been going to Admiralty Inlet to study killer whales and their impact on the environment since 2009, and he planned to return during the first week of August. Working with the Ikajutit Hunters and Trappers Association (HTA), researchers shoot tracking beacons using crossbows onto the orcas. “If we can find people who are interested in coming back year after year, and train them up…

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