Shipping & Monitoring

“The tracking of vessels will be made available when the shipping season resumes this year, likely in July 2020 depending on ice conditions.”

  1. The potential for shipping to interfere with local hunting
  2. The potential for vessels to affect marine mammals
  3. The potential for shipping to harm the health of the marine ecosystem
  1. Baffinland runs a number of different monitoring programs throughout the shipping season. These programs will:
    1. Measure the impacts that shipping is having on the marine environment.
    2. Assess the accuracy of predictions of effects
    3. Determine if adaptive mitigation measures need to be developed.
  1. Aerial Survey: Monitors narwhal abundance and distribution and other marine mammal species in the project area
  2. Bruce Head Shore-based Monitoring: Investigates narwhal response to shipping along the Northern Shipping Route by observing them from the top of Bruce Head.
  3. Ship-based Observer: investigates narwhal response to shipping activities by observing them from icebreaker MSV Botanica
  4. Marine environmental effects and Aquatic Invasive Species:
    1. monitoring of ballast water and video monitoring of vessel hulls
    2. Water quality, sediment, metals
    3. Fish abundance and health