Project BriGHT sets course to assess climate-driven changes on traditional inuit food

Published on 27 Jun 2018

Project BriGHT will be on board the CCGS Amundsen from July 5 to 13, 2018 to collect samples of water and country food along the coast of Nunavik. The team will also take this opportunity to visit Inuit communities to discuss their preoccupations concerning climate and changes in country food availability and quality.

Climate change in the Arctic Ocean is altering the lives of Inuit. It is transforming the way they eat, what they eat and the quality of food choices they make. Country food is central to Inuit culture and subsistence in the Arctic. Sentinel North research project 3.3 BriGHT (Bridging Global change, Inuit Health and the Transforming Arctic Ocean) was created to assess the impact of climate change on the nutrients present in the marine food chains which constitutes a dominant portion of the Inuit country food diet.

Effects of climate change are more and more prevalent. There is growing evidence that they may be affecting the abundance, accessibility and even the quality of different country food throughout Nunavik. The result of this study will allow researchers to gauge the climate-driven changes in country food and what impacts it may be having on the health and well-being of Inuit. It will dwell on how changes in sunlight availability in water and ice may be affecting small algae, an important part of the nutrients found in fish and marine mammals which constitute an important part of the Inuit diet.

Members of Inuit communities have been invited on board the ship to learn more about the research operations and to obtain information about the results from the 2017 activities. It also represents an ideal opportunity for community members to express their concerns about climate change and the impact it is having on country food.

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