Revitalizing Indigenous Fishing for Fish Health and Fisheries Sustainability

Project Description

Many fish populations have declined across Canada, due to diverse pressures including overharvesting, pollution, habitat degradation, and more. Prior to colonization, Indigenous management systems supported large-scale fisheries alongside healthy fish populations. These systems are being revitalized by their communities, to meet the needs of both people and fish, and move towards more sustainable fisheries practices. On the Lower Fraser River, eight First Nations, in partnership with Lower Fraser Fisheries Alliance (LFFA), are doing just this. In this process of revitalization, we will be studying Indigenous fishing technologies (like weirs, wheels, and traps), their implications for the health of Pacific salmon populations in a changing river and its tributaries.

This research is expanding to study the present and historical criminalization of Indigenous fishing, namely in British Columbia, and how this has transformed fisheries management. We also hope to look to the future and envision how revitalizing Indigenous fishing technologies can transform fisheries management to promote just futures for fish, people, and place.