The Anguniaqvia niqiqyuam

Marine Protected Area A marine protected area (MPA) is a protected area of the world's seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity ...

(MPA) is located in the

Inuvialuit Settlement Region The Inuvialuit Settlement Region, abbreviated as ISR (; ), located in Canada's western Arctic, was designated in 1984 in the Inuvialuit Final Agreement by the Government of Canada for the Inuvialuit (''the real people''). It spans , including ...

in the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. The MPA was established in October 2016 to support habitat for important marine species, and to help protect the marine environment adjacent to the Cape Parry Migratory Bird Sanctuary. The area is culturally important to the

Inuvialuit The Inuvialuit (sing. Inuvialuk; ''the real people'') or Western Canadian Inuit are Inuit who live in the western Canadian Arctic region. They, like all other Inuit, are descendants of the Thule who migrated eastward from Alaska. Their homelan ...

for subsistence hunting and fishing activities. The MPA was named in honour of Nelson Green, an Inuvialuk elder from

Paulatuk Paulatuk () is a hamlet located in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is located adjacent to Darnley Bay, in the Amundsen Gulf, and east of the Smoking Hills. The town was named for the coal that was found in the area in ...

Geography

Anguniaqvia niqiqyuam lies adjacent to the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

, and surrounds much of

Parry Peninsula The Parry Peninsula on the north coast of Canada's Northwest Territories is bounded on the west by Franklin Bay, on the north by Amundsen Gulf, and on the east by Darnley Bay. The nearest settlement is Paulatuk. It is also home to the Cape Par ...

Cape Parry Cape Parry is a headland in Canada's Northwest Territories. Located at the northern tip of the Parry Peninsula, it projects into Amundsen Gulf. The nearest settlement is Paulatuk, to the south, and Fiji Island is located to the west. Cape Par ...

is located at the tip of the peninsula, where a migratory bird sanctuary is located.

Franklin Bay Franklin Bay is a large inlet in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is a southern arm of the Amundsen Gulf, southeastern Beaufort Sea. The bay measures long, and wide at its mouth. The Parry Peninsula is to the east, and its southern are ...

lies on the western side of the MPA, and on the eastern side of the peninsula the MPA extends south into

Darnley Bay Darnley Bay is a large inlet in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is a southern arm of the Amundsen Gulf. The bay measures long, and wide at its mouth. The Parry Peninsula is to the west and Halcro Point is to the east. The Canadian Shi ...

. Rivers located nearby include the Hornaday and Brock Rivers, which empty into Darnley Bay, and the

Horton River (Canada) The Horton River is a river in Inuvik Region, Northwest Territories, Inuvik and Sahtu Region, Sahtu Regions, Northwest Territories and Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut, Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is a tributary of the Beaufort Sea and hence ...

which enters the ocean on the western side of Franklin Bay, from the eastern coast of the Bathurst Peninsula. The MPA is situated along the southern coast of

Amundsen Gulf Amundsen Gulf is a gulf located mainly in the Inuvik Region, Northwest Territories, Canada with a small section in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut. It lies between Banks Island and Victoria Island (Canada), Victoria Island and the mainland. It i ...

and covers an area of approximately .

Tuktut Nogait National Park Tuktut Nogait National Park () is a national park located in the Northwest Territories of Canada that was established in 1998. Meaning "young caribou" in Inuvialuktun, the park is home to the calving grounds of the Bluenose-West caribou herd. I ...

is located nearby.

Ecology

Anguniaqvia niqiqyuam MPA encompasses important habitats for numerous species including

Arctic char The Arctic char or Arctic charr (''Salvelinus alpinus'') is a cold-water fish in the family Salmonidae, native to alpine lakes, as well as Arctic and subarctic coastal waters in the Holarctic realm, Holarctic. Distribution and habitat It Spaw ...

, Beluga whales,

Bowhead whale The bowhead whale (''Balaena mysticetus''), sometimes called the Greenland right whale, Arctic whale, and polar whale, is a species of baleen whale belonging to the family Balaenidae and is the only living representative of the genus '' Balaena' ...

ringed Bird ringing (UK) or bird banding (US) is the attachment of a small, individually numbered metal or plastic tag to the leg or wing of a wild bird to enable individual identification. This helps in keeping track of the movements of the bird an ...

and

bearded seal The bearded seal (''Erignathus barbatus''), also called the square flipper seal, is a medium-sized pinniped that is found in and near to the Arctic Ocean. It gets its Genus, generic name from two Greek language, Greek words (''eri'' and ''gnathos ...

s, and

polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can Hybrid (biology), interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear ...

. The MPA surrounds the Cape Parry Migratory Bird Sanctuary, which was established to protect nesting

thick-billed murre The thick-billed murre or Brünnich's guillemot (''Uria lomvia'') is a bird in the auk family (Alcidae). This bird is named after the Danish zoologist Morten Thrane Brünnich. The very deeply black North Pacific subspecies ''Uria lomvia arra'' i ...

s and

black guillemot The black guillemot or tystie (''Cepphus grylle'') is a medium-sized seabird of the Alcidae family, native throughout northern Atlantic coasts and eastern North American coasts. It is resident in much of its range, but large populations from the ...

s. At least 20 other bird species have been noted in this sanctuary, which further provides critical staging habitat for migrating waterfowl.

References

{{Canada topic, List of protected areas of, Protected areas of Canada Marine Protected Areas of Canada * Paulatuk

Geography

Ecology

See also

References