Proposals to expand the Port of Churchill in northern Manitoba could bring an increase in shipping traffic and commercial activity — and some experts suggest that could affect the behaviour of the whales that are not only a major draw in the area's nearly $100-million tourism industry, but an important food source for some in the North.

Johnny Mamgark remembers first hunting beluga whales along the Hudson Bay coastline with his father as early as 13 or 14 years old.

"It's part of our culture; we live on it," said Mamgark.

"Living up north is so expensive, the food we buy is so expensive — that's why we need to hunt to survive up north."

Mamgark, who now lives in Winnipeg, is Inuk and grew up in Arviat, Nunavut — a small Inuit community along the western coast of Hudson Bay, about 260 k

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