New Research: Identifying Best Practices in Fisheries Monitoring and Stewardship Training for First Nations Youth

Haley Milko, Masters of Resource Management student at Simon Fraser University has completed her thesis work identifying best practice in fisheries monitoring and stewardship training for First Nations Youth. Abstract: In British Columbia, fisheries management policies in the last few decades have severely diminished access for a generation of youth to knowledge of traditional governance, […]

News Brief: Canada-US Bilateral Agreement on Arctic Conservation

On March 10, 2016 Canada and the US released a major bilateral announcement on the Arctic to coincide with Prime Minister Trudeau’s visit to Washington. The announcement includes an initiative to re-examine new conservation goals for the Arctic and a commitment to engage all Arctic nations in the development of a pan-Arctic marine protection area […]

New Research: Climate change could cut First Nations fisheries’ catch in half

Media Release | January 13, 2016 First Nations fisheries’ catch could decline by nearly 50 per cent by 2050, according to a new study examining the threat of climate change to the food and economic security of indigenous communities along coastal British Columbia, Canada. “Climate change is likely to lead to declines in herring and […]

Projected scenarios for coastal First Nations’ fisheries catch potential under climate change: Management challenges and opportunities

Studies have demonstrated ways in which climate-related shifts in the distributions and relative abundances of marine species are expected to alter the dynamics and catch potential of global fisheries. While these studies assess impacts on large-scale commercial fisheries, few efforts have been made to quantitatively project impacts on small-scale subsistence and commercial fisheries that are economically, socially and culturally important to many coastal communities. This study uses a dynamic bioclimate envelope model to project scenarios of climate-related changes in the relative abundance, distribution and richness of 98 exploited marine fishes and invertebrates of commercial and cultural importance to First Nations in coastal British Columbia, Canada. Declines in abundance are projected for most of the sampled species under both the lower (Representative Concentration Pathway [RCP] 2.6) and higher (RCP 8.5) emission scenarios (-15.0% to -20.8%, respectively), with poleward range shifts occurring at a median rate of 10.3 to 18.0 km decade-1 by 2050 relative to 2000. While a cumulative decline in catch potential is projected coastwide (-4.5 to -10.7%), estimates suggest a strong positive correlation between the change in relative catch potential and latitude, with First Nations’ territories along the northern and central coasts of British Columbia likely to experience less severe declines than those to the south. Furthermore, a strong negative correlation is projected between latitude and the number of species exhibiting declining abundance. These trends are shown to be robust to alternative species distribution models. This study concludes by discussing corresponding management challenges that are likely to be encountered under climate change, and by highlighting the value of joint-management frameworks and traditional fisheries management approaches that could aid in offsetting impacts and developing site-specific mitigation and adaptation strategies derived from local fishers’ knowledge.

Identifying best practices in fisheries monitoring and stewardship training for First Nations youth

In British Columbia, fisheries management policies in the last few decades have severely diminished access for a generation of youth to knowledge of traditional governance, ecological economies, and cultural practices. However, legal precedents, the completion of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and activism are changing the status quo such that colonial relationships in resource management are no longer viable. This research looks at best practices for, as well as opportunities and challenges facing fisheries monitoring and stewardship programs because they are a promising way to bridge generational gaps in access to and knowledge of the ocean environment, and because resource monitoring is a foundation for a community’s capacity to govern. Overall, the research contributes to a better understanding of how stewardship and monitoring training programs can contribute to the larger vision of coastal First Nations in their desired return to First Nations governance of their marine territories. (Masters of Resource Management thesis, Haley Milko. Simon Fraser University.) (Full publication)

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