Nurturing sustainable small-scale fisheries to strengthen food sovereignty in Qikiqtarjuaq, Nunavut, Canada
Bibliographic record
Abstract
For generations, Inuit in Nunavut have relied on small-scale fisheries as a foundation for food security, cultural identity, and economic resilience. However, systemic barriers, such as the high cost of living, limited infrastructure, climate change, and colonial legacies, continue to challenge the sustainability of Inuit food systems. In this context, small-scale fisheries are increasingly recognized in academic and policy circles as a promising pathway toward Inuit food sovereignty, with the potential to strengthen local economies, promote cultural continuity, and improve access to nutritious, culturally significant foods like Arctic char. This qualitative case study prioritizes Inuit voices in Qikiqtarjuaq, Nunavut, to explore the complex role of small-scale fisheries in advancing food security, sovereignty, and community well-being. Semi-structured interviews ( n = 15) were conducted with Elders, experienced commercial fish harvesters, and local decision-makers. Findings emphasize the cultural significance of fishing practices, the emotional and spiritual connection to harvesting, and the importance of intergenerational knowledge transmission. Participants also identified key barriers, including the lack of infrastructure, harvester support, and local market access, that limit the full potential of small-scale fisheries. This study calls for strategic, rights-based policy interventions that support Inuit-led priorities. Investments in marine infrastructure, harvester development programs, and community-based market models can help ensure the sustainability of small-scale fisheries in Qikiqtarjuaq and similar Arctic communities.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.001 | 0.002 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.015 | 0.004 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.002 | 0.001 |
| Open science | 0.002 | 0.003 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.003 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".