Qaqulluit National Wildlife Area

To protect breeding and feeding habitat for northern fulmars and other species. 

Access to Qaqulluit by anyone other than Inuit enrolled under the Nunavut Agreement is restricted, and any non-Nunavut Inuit must obtain a permit to enter the area. 

Qaqulluit is home to Canada’s largest breeding colony of northern fulmars, estimated at about 27,000 pairs (this is 20% of Canada’s breeding population of northern fulmars). Seabirds use the 400-meter high cliffs in the area for nesting, and feed in the sea. Other seabirds in the area include black guillemots, glaucous gulls, and Iceland gulls. There are also mammals such as polar bears, walrus, and ringed seals. The area continues to be important for Inuit culture and subsistence today. Qaqulluit is the Inuktitut word for “fulmar.”