Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area

To protect biodiversity, such as narwhal, belugas and seabirds, as well as to limit the extraction of polluting natural resources such as oil and gas in these waters.

It is prohibited to extract oil and gas within the 131,000 square kilometres of Tallurutiup Imanga.

The large seascape of Tallurutiup Imanga can be found in the northeastern Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut. As this region has been long understood by local Inuit as an environment full of wildlife and a necessary habitat for Arctic species, the primary goal of the proposed marine conservation area is to work with local Inuit to conserve the rich biodiversity of this area. Tallurutiup Imanga has been described as the ecological engine of the entire eastern Canadian Arctic marine ecosystem, as this area’s geographical elements create an appealing habitat for many different Arctic species and encourages biodiversity and productivity. Tallurutiup Imanga’s large open waters attract marine birds and mammals in the winter, and it sits in an east-west migratory corridor which many species use to migrate each year. This region has provided essential habitat for up to 75 per cent of the global population of narwhals, 20 per cent of the Canadian beluga population, the largest subpopulation of polar bears in Canada, and is the home base for some of the largest seabird colonies in the Canadian Arctic.