Hunters fear expedition's sunken truck is contaminating hunting grounds near Taloyoak, Nunavut

The manager of the hunters and trappers group in Taloyoak, Nunavut, says a truck sunk by an Arctic expedition in one of his community's prime hunting grounds feels like a "stab in the back." 

"We live off the land. We're not farmers. We're hunters and gatherers, and we need our game to be clean," said Jimmy Oleekatalik. "We want it cleaned out as quickly as possible." 

The Transglobal Car Expedition, with crew members from Iceland, Ukraine, Russia, Canada and the U.S., lost a modified Ford F-150 through the ice northwest of Taloyoak on March 23. The incident happened after the expedition successfully travelled overland from Yellowknife to Resolute Bay, Nunavut, while part of the team was making its way back to Cambridge Bay. 

Now, the vehicle rests on the ocean floor in between the Tasmania Islands. 

Oleekatalik and Joe Ashevak, chairperson of the Spence Bay Hunters and Trappers Association, said the area — 240 kilometres northwest of Taloyoak — is one through which beluga whales, narwhals, seals, walruses and Arctic char are known to migrate. 

"It's going to harm the wildlife, one way or the other," said Ashevak.

According to a report phoned into a 24-hour spill line that serves both Nunavut and the N.W.T., the truck contained 40 litres of fuel, other fluid and a back-up generator. 

Ashevak said people in Taloyoak and Gjoa Haven, a community further south, are "not happy" about what happened. They're worried fuel and lubricants are going to leak from the vehicle and contaminate a food chain that's integral to their way of life.

The expedition told CBC News the truck's fuel tank appears to be intact and a closed system containing antifreeze would need to be damaged in order for liquid to leak.

Ashevak pointed out, however, the vehicle is not far from the surface of the water and it's "bound" to be struck by icebergs come spring and summer. 

Andrew Dumbrille, an independent shipping consultant, said any type of ocean spill is "very destructive." He's an advisor to the Clean Arctic Alliance, and used to be a lead specialist on marine shipping and conservation at the World Wildlife Fund-Canada. 

"Oils and lubricants and petrol and diesel, they bioaccumulate in the environment, they don't disappear, they don't go away," he said. "They build up in fatty tissues in marine mammals or fish … and from there, it affects human health." 

Contamination concerns aren't the only reason why Oleekatalik and Ashevak say their communities are upset. Oleekatalik said the Tasmania Islands are "very dangerous" this time of year because of the fast flowing current of water below the ice. 

Had the expedition consulted with people in Taloyoak, they say the incident could have been avoided altogether.